The Poké Chronicles: A Legend in Black
by Cyclone130
Summary: I was normal. 'Was' being the key word. Then the world decided to kick me around. You could call me great. You could call me crazy. It wouldn't make any difference. The only constants I have anymore are my Pokémon. You want to hear my story? Well you better sit down and get real comfortable because it's no fairy tale.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning of It All

**This is my first story, so be wary of mistakes.**

**Reviews are highly appreciated.**

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**Enjoy.**

* * *

I looked down at the wide eyes staring up at me expectantly. What was I to do? This young girl (probably no more than ten) was asking to hear my life story. Was I just supposed to pour my heart out to her? I didn't want to seem rude, but my past wasn't something I willingly talked about to, well, anybody.

"Well?" she asked. I definitely couldn't just turn her down. I was mature and should be able to handle the situation. But it was still my past.

"Alright, alright," I responded. "Just let me think of where to start." Why was this girl even asking in the first place? Was she genuinely interested? Or was she just snooping? Either way, I decided to give her the (heavily) sugarcoated version. I definitely didn't need a ten year old running around with my deepest secrets.

I began with the day I turned ten. It was the day I became an official trainer. As the words started to flow, I couldn't help but remember all that had happened to me up to that point. It came rushing back in a wave of remembrance.

* * *

I woke up early that morning and pounded my alarm clock. It was the day that I had been waiting for. My trainer's license would finally be mine!

Rolling out of bed, I quickly rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes. I walked over to my closet and began to search through the clothing. My outfit was never something I fussed over, but this was a special occasion. I decided on a nice pair of jeans, a maroon shirt, and my favorite black jacket. That was something I almost never went without.

The mirror showed a young boy with confidence. I quickly used my fingers as a comb to fix my jet black hair. There hadn't been time for a shower (in my opinion). I frowned at the light streak that stood out in my bangs. It had been there for as long as I could remember. That being said, I also hated it for as long as I could remember. People always teased me, suggesting I was graying early. My jacket was still far too big for me. It had been my father's back when he was a trainer. My slim body didn't fill it out very well. Luckily, I had plenty of growing ahead.

After deciding on the outfit, I rushed downstairs. If I knew my parents well enough, they would already be waiting for me. I hurried toward the living room only to be stopped by a firm hand.

"Slow down there, bud!" I looked up at the brown eyes staring at me behind the glasses. My father was smiling down. "There's no need to rush!" I caught my breath and allowed him to lead me into the room.

My mother was sitting on the couch smiling. Her brown hair was resting on her shoulders. I immediately rushed over to her. My excitement was difficult to contain.

"Calm down!" she said with a laugh. "You don't want to jump out of your skin!" It didn't stop me. Nothing short of an apocalypse could at that point.

"Can we go now?" I asked excitedly. I realized that I actually was jumping in anticipation. That was the least of my worries.

"Alright!" My father finally gave in. A smile rapidly grew on my face. I was beaming with excitement. "Just let your mother and I get ready." My smile slightly faded. I knew all too well how long it took for my parents to get ready for anything.

I took my eagerness to the front door and did my best to wait. My parents seemed to be taking their sweet time tying their shoes. I was ready to burst. This was not a day for waiting! They eventually finished and began to walk to the coat closet. They hardly had the chance to grab their jackets before I dragged them outside.

It was a cool autumn day in Mahogany Town. A breeze was blowing in off the lake. The trees were already a collage of colors. I took a deep breath and ran to the car. I was so close.

Mahogany was not a big town. It was actually one of the smallest in Johto (second to New Bark), so the drive to the Pokémon Center was only a short five minutes. It was the longest five minutes of my life.

We finally arrived at the Center after what felt like an eternity. My insides were just about to pop with excitement. Have I mentioned how excited I was? I burst through the doors with all the confidence in the world. My arms were spread happily, and a smile flooded my beaming face. It soon faded with the stares I received from the trainers.

They looked at me like I was some strange creature from an unknown world. It didn't feel good to say the least. I quickly controlled myself and sulked over to the front desk. My face had to have been red with embarrassment. I just kept telling myself that it would all be worth it when I became the greatest trainer to walk the earth. Those people will have wished they knew me.

At the front desk, I was met by the cheery pink-haired woman behind it. She smiled happily and my embarrassment began to fade. Back to the mission at hand.

"Why hello there, sweetie," the nurse chirped. Her voice was comforting. "How can I help you today?" I then realized just how nervous I was. By that I mean I suddenly had a loss for words. She laughed at my expense and my face turned red once again. "I have a good guess at what you're here for." Her smile made the situation a little better.

"Sorry, Joy." I was saved any more awkwardness when my father came up beside me. He could do all the talking. "We're here to get our little buddy his trainer's license." And the attention was back to me.

"I figured as much." At least she wasn't speaking directly to me anymore. "You'll just have to fill out a little paperwork." I let out a little groan. More waiting. She pulled a thin packet out from under the desk and handed it to my father with a pen. He began working on it while I stood there. I suddenly found myself falling into a daydream.

I imagined myself with a Dragonite by my side. We roamed Johto and took down any trainer that dared to challenge us. We were unstoppable. The Champions from all regions bowed as I was granted the title of Supreme Trainer. All others paled in comparison. I didn't feel the foolish smile that overtook my face. That was quickly erased when I realized my father was calling for me.

"Get over here!" he said happily. "And you were rushing us!" He laughed as I scurried over. I was told to sit still while my picture was taken. Joy smiled back and waited while a printer whirred behind the desk. I heard a ding. She grabbed the freshly made card and handed it to me.

I stared at it in awe at the small piece of plastic that I had waited oh so long for. No words could express what I was feeling. At that moment, one thing was certain: I was an official Pokémon trainer. I scanned the card hastily. My picture was on the left side showing my attempt at a serious face. I did want to be great after all. The top had the words "Trainer I.D." printed across. The right side showed my name, height, eye color, and hometown.

On the back side of the card, I found a blank line. I looked at Nurse Joy in confusion.

"What is this?" I asked curiously. A pang of worry struck as I thought we had forgotten something. I couldn't bear the thought of having to give my newly acquired status back.

"Oh, that's for when you turn fourteen," she replied happily. "That will be where your signature goes. It shows that you are officially able to participate in the Gym Circuit and travel the region without parental consent." I nodded as I remembered the rules. They had been modified after too many young trainers fell into danger. It wasn't favorable with those under the age limit at the time, but it was for the best.

"Thank you for your time." My mother's voice broke me out of my slight trance. She was talking to Joy. "We must be heading home now for one more surprise." I looked up from my I.D. card quickly. I had forgotten about that surprise.

I sprinted toward the front door, leaving my parents and a startled Nurse Joy behind. It didn't matter at that point. All I cared about was getting to see my starter Pokémon.

* * *

Nothing could keep me from getting back to my house. The ride home went rather quickly as I was lost imagining about what starter I could possibly get. So many options ran through my mind. Most of them favored the powerful, intimidating factor. I couldn't hide an excited giggle at the possibility of receiving a dragon.

The sound of tires on the gravel driveway was enough to stop my dreaming. I didn't even notice the look my parents gave each other as I bolted inside.

The ride was quick, but waiting for my Pokémon was excruciating. My parents definitely weren't ones for speed. They eventually walked into the living room with smiles that seemed a little forced. That didn't faze me as much as it should have.

"Now, son," my father began. "We should warn you–"

"Just give me my Pokémon!" I interrupted. My excitement was overflowing at that point. I had waited long enough. I wanted to see my starter.

My father pulled a Pokéball out from behind his back and set it in my eager hands. It was finally time to see who my first partner on my epic journey would be.

I quickly tossed the ball to the ground. It burst open with a bright white light. I covered my eyes with my arm until it faded. I held the position to increase the suspense. As soon as I pulled away my shield, my excitement went out the window. I stared in disbelief at the writhing orange creature flopping on the floor. Its tail was flailing weakly. Its face was locked in a blank, dumb-looking stare. My starter, the Pokémon that would begin my journey to stardom, was a weak, worthless Magikarp.

My parents looked at me with false excitement. That was quickly corrected with the glare I shot. They took on looks of pity.

A long moment of silence filled the room. I was at a loss for words, and the two responsible for this travesty didn't dare say anything. We just stood there. It was my anger that finally led me to speak up.

"Are you serious?" I couldn't keep the utter disappointment out of my voice. "You got me a ___Magikarp_?" My tone was rapidly gaining venom. I was (for lack of a better term) pissed.

"Sweetie," my mother started. She didn't get far.

"How could you do this?!" I was practically yelling. "This is my first Pokémon! The one that I am supposed to start my grand adventure with! How am I going to get anywhere with a Magikarp?!" My mother stepped back, appalled. Her sweet, little boy was turning on her with a wrath. "A starter is supposed to be something you can rely on! It's not supposed to be a Skitty's meal! This ___thing_ couldn't take down a blind Caterpie!"

"Now, son, listen up!" My father stepped up to the plate with a stern tone. My enraged façade faltered. "We aren't exactly rich here! We live in a small town and have managed to get by on what money we have. I'm sorry we couldn't get you anything strong. It's just not within our means! I would expect you to know this. We didn't raise you to be greedy. Now be happy we actually allowed you to even become a trainer and accept your starter!" It was my turn to step back. "This is the best we can do. You have four years to train up before joining the Gym Circuit. There's no need to get ahead of yourself."

What could I say? As much as I hated to admit it, my father had a point. We weren't that well off. It was the whole reason we had to move from Olivine to come here. It just hurt a little to think that I had to cope with having the most worthless Pokémon in the world as my first. All I could muster was a frown.

"It's not all that bad." My mother spoke up again. "This little guy is already a level fifteen! He knows tackle!" As much as she was trying, I wasn't cheering up much.

"Oh, that reminds me." My father reached into his pocket and pulled out a stone with a string attached. I would later figure out it was an Everstone. He reached down and tied it to my Magikarp's tail. I only cocked my head in curiosity. "This is just a little gift. It's more for looks." He was lucky I was oblivious to what he was doing. It wouldn't have helped my rage.

"I have an idea!" my mother exclaimed. "How 'bout you name him!" I perked up a little bit. I could finally do ___something _with my situation.

I knelt down next to the flopping fish. It looked incredibly pathetic. He was wriggling in protest to being on land. His eyes were wide and dumb-looking. No part of him looked threatening in the least. I let out a long sigh as he let out a cry. It didn't help his cause. My mind was instantly filled with possible names to match his stupidity.

___Maybe he could be a Ditz. _I snickered a little. ___No. Maybe a Brainless? No. Flailer? No. _I went back and forth like until a new idea struck. ___Maybe he just needs motivation to be great. _It was a long shot, but maybe all this fish needed was a name to match my expectations. I thought long and hard about what name could induce greatness and power. He was a water type. I decided on a water-related name. ___Tidal? Nah. Tsunami? Too long. Whirlpool? No. Typhoon? _Then it stuck. ___Yeah that sounds good. The mighty Typhoon! Perfect._

"I've got it," I said. A small snicker came out once I realized the irony. "He's Typhoon." My parents were confused. "His name is Typhoon." They understood and decided to go along with it. No need for another tantrum.

"That's…nice," my mother responded. Her skepticism didn't bug me. I had named my starter. To avoid anymore awkwardness, she pulled another Pokéball from behind her back. My heart jumped a bit. It obviously showed. "Now don't get too excited. This one is empty." My sudden surge of hope fell. "Don't be too sad. This is for you to catch another teammate. It's a lot cheaper than buying one."

I took the ball and examined it. It was better than nothing. At least I could control what Pokémon I received next. That was a relief.

"But wait, there's more!" my father said, teasingly. He handed me a black knapsack-like bag. "This is to carry all of your trainer stuff in." I searched through it. There was nothing inside except for a red, notebook-like thing. I pulled it out and flipped it open. There was a screen inside that lit up.

"That's your PokéDex," my mother clarified. "It is the most recent version, so it contains information on all Pokémon discovered." I held it over Typhoon. The screen showed a picture of a Magikarp along with all the info about it I could want. I closed the Dex and put it back in the bag. Typhoon was staring up at me with his blank eyes. I reached down and reluctantly pet him. It just sent him into a flopping fit.

"Maybe you two should go upstairs and get to know each other," my father suggested. I didn't see the point since the fish seemed oblivious to, well, everything, but I agreed nonetheless. I picked up Typhoon and carried him to my room.

Once we had our privacy, I set him down and observed. He only flopped more and let out his cry. It was rather pathetic seeing a weak water Pokémon on land. That put a thought into my head. I hurried back downstairs.

My destination was the kitchen. I grabbed a large, empty tub and began filling it with water. My father walked in and looked on with curiosity.

"Ty needs water," I explained. Shortening his name to Ty seemed right.

"Well I'll help you carry this upstairs then." I sighed in relief at his support. He lugged the tub up to my room with limited spills. Ty was waiting right where I left him. No surprises there.

I picked him up and placed him in the water. Despite the previous blank looks he gave, he actually seemed happy. That was confirmed with a leap that succeeded in soaking me and chasing my father out.

Ty poked his head up and locked eyes with me. For a moment, I felt a connection with him. At that moment, I decided to go through with it. I was going to become a legend and that ridiculous excuse for a Pokémon was going to help. I didn't care if it took an eternity. My dream was going to be fulfilled. Nothing was going to stop me.

Oh how naïve I was.


	2. Chapter 2: The Will to Fight

Her gaze didn't waver. She still stared up at me, waiting for the story to continue. It had been my mistake to believe that her age would lead to a short attention span. If anything, it created quite the opposite.

"Is that it?" she asked accusingly. I must admit, she was incredibly persistent. "There has to be more!" She leaned closer to me, her eyes pleading for a continuation. Damn, she was difficult to deal with.

"Alright already!" I finally caved. My story was already watered down. The least I could do was finish it. I cleared my throat and began again. The words triggered the memories, and I was back where I had left off.

* * *

It was the day after my entrance into the world of training. I had no need for an alarm clock as I was awaken by a splash of water to my face. Ty was up and ready to go. I had decided to let him spend his first night out of his ball and in his homemade tank. It was my attempt at gaining some sort of trust from him. I knew it was in vain but, hey, he _was _my starter.

I rolled out of bed with a groan as I wiped my eyes. That hadn't been a preferable wake up call. In spite of the recent, soggy events, I shuffled into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

The hot water was relieving and invited me to think a little. This was really the first time I had been able to take in everything. I was now a trainer! What was I going to do with myself? There was only one logical option: train my Pokémon.

I hopped out of the shower and quickly threw on my clothes. My hair was quickly combed (no time to fuss over early-graying) as I grabbed Ty's Pokéball. I returned him before heading downstairs.

My parents were talking in the kitchen when I popped in. They turned toward me with a bit of a start.

"Why are you up so early?" my mother asked. She quickly realized the pointlessness of her question as I showed her the ball. She nodded. "Just don't wander too far!" She hardly had time to get the words out before I grabbed a granola bar and headed toward the front door.

"Wait!" My father caught me as my hand grasped the knob. "Hold on a second." I watched as he rummaged through the front closet. He came out with a beaten up fishing rod. I looked at it with a hint of disgust. "This is my old rod that I had as a trainer. Use it to fish for Pokémon. It will only catch ones weak enough for Ty to handle."

I shot him a glare after that. I was trying to get over the whole Magikarp starter. He didn't need to rub it in. I waved good-bye as I headed out the door. It was time to live up to my newly acquired title.

* * *

The sun was out that day. It gave a nice warm layer to try and cover the chill in the air. It was perfect training weather, and I knew just where to go.

I walked off on a path leading north of the town. My destination was Route 43. It was a great place to try out my new fishing rod.

The route was a great place. It was lined with trees that were a collage of autumn colors. Ponds could be found in the clearings. Further north was the Lake of Rage. I was not allowed to travel that far. My parents had acted like it was a big deal to go see a lake. I wasn't about to start an argument, though.

I found a pond after travelling through the trees for a while. It was the perfect spot to try out my rod. I sat myself on a rock along the shore and unpacked my bag. Ty was released and immediately jumped into the water with a joyous cry. I couldn't stifle a laugh as he splashed about.

My fishing rod was the next thing to come out. It was time to see what it could do. I baited the line with some Pokémon food and cast it out into the center of the pond. Then I waited.

The minutes ticked by without any sign of a catch. I was quickly losing my patience. I began to reel the line in with frustration. Suddenly, the rod began to jerk violently to the point where I almost lost my grip. I had finally gotten a bite.

I began to pull furiously on the pole as I struggled with whatever held the line. The battle was in my favor as the mystery catch began splashing as it neared the shore. I gave one last pull and an orange mass shot out of the water. It was a Magikarp. Ty was out of the pond in a flash, ready to battle.

I was a little disappointed with the catch. I had been hoping for something a little more–well–power. Either way, it was still a training opportunity for my starter.

"Let's go, Ty," I called. He feebly flopped in front of me and awaited command. I racked my brain for an attack until I recollected what my mother had said briefly. "Hit 'em with a tackle!" He lunged at the unsuspecting creature and knocked it away from the shore.

It didn't appear to do as much damage as I had hoped as the enemy quickly gathered itself. I watched carefully in anticipation of a counter attack. What ensued was worthy of a laugh. The Magikarp began leaking water and splashed it toward Ty. It did nothing.

"How 'bout another tackle?" Ty lunged at it once more. This hit seemed to be more direct as the wild fish let out a cry as it flew backward. It was a little slower this time around, but it was still fit to fight nonetheless. Unfortunately for the poor thing, it was only able to use its feeble splash attack once more. I almost felt sorry for it as Ty attacked once again.

He hit with the same power as the previous tackle. This one finished the job as the wild Magikarp was unconscious. I cheered in victory and ran toward my Pokémon. We had won our first battle!

"Karp!" Ty cried happily. He seemed to enjoy the battle experience. I picked him up in an awkward hug. I soon regretted it as I stared at my soaked clothes. It didn't matter at that point. I just wanted to battle again.

My fishing line was back out in the water in an instant. I was able to reel in some more Magikarp for Ty to face. We repeated the process many times without fail. I quickly learned that our enemies were only able to splash. It took some of the pride out of winning, but it certainly helped overcome the struggle of having a weak starter.

I pulled out my PokéDex to check on Ty's progress. It showed that he had leveled up to sixteen. Considering the amount of fish we had immobilized, the number was slightly disappointing. I guess that's the trade-off for battling such weak opponents. That all soon changed, however, when I heard a rustling in the brush behind me.

My head snapped around, my eyes searching for the source. It soon showed itself as it slowly snuck out into the open. I could feel my jaw drop as I stared into the eyes of a Pidgeotto that seemed to be very angry. There was no time to react before it charged.

In an attempt to shield myself, I threw my arms up. I braced for impact, but it never came. I looked up to find the Pidgeotto getting up off the ground. Ty was flopping around angrily. He had tackled the thing before it could reach me. Now it was time to _really _battle.

"Ty, get in the water!" I commanded. He dove instantly. The Pidgeotto was already back on its feet. Well, actually, it was now flying overhead with its eyes on me. I had to think quickly.

With a reckless strategy in mind, I quickly followed Ty's lead, removed my jacket, and jumped into the pond. The bird instantly dove down. It was time to put my plan into action. Just as the Pidgeotto neared the water, I yelled.

"Ty, tackle it!" My Magikarp charged out of the water in front of me. It caught air and hit the bird in the center of its chest. It flailed back but it kept its flight. On command, Ty dove back underwater. I couldn't allow him to get hurt. Strategy was my only hope of winning this fight.

Holding my position, I stared down the wild Pokémon as it dove at me again. Once more, I commanded Ty who promptly provided a solid tackle. Our enemy touched down this time. It was starting to weaken. I smiled at this revelation.

The third attempt at a dive attack ended differently. The Pidgeotto had learned its lesson and ducked under Ty's tackle. He landed back in the water with a splash. The foe was now barreling at my face at full speed. I held up my arms again in desperation. Then I heard a splash, a squawk, and another splash.

I looked up from my defensive position just in time to see Ty dive back into the water. The Pidgeotto was flailing in the pond a few feet away. It had been smacked down. I had never been so grateful for the Magikarp.

He popped up again to whack the bird back onto dry land. It promptly shook its feathers and limped back into the brush. That was a win in my book.

Unfortunately, fate didn't seem too happy about the constant winning because not two minutes later, a young trainer walked into the clearing. He looked upon me with some sort of disgust.

I recognized him almost immediately. It was Rylan Wilkerson. He was known as the Mahogany delinquent. It was a fitting title, too as he was always committing petty crimes. He never left any permanent damage, but he did enough to catch the attention of the police.

"Well that was awfully sloppy," he sneered. I could only stare back in confusion. "Your little rundown with that Pidgeotto. That could have been handled better." I looked down at my feet. His presence was intimidating as he was a few years older. "Why would you use a Magikarp of all things? Any other Pokémon would have been better."

"H-He's my o-only P-Pokémon," I stuttered nervously. He looked dumbfounded. I was almost enjoying the silence until he began cackling uncontrollably. My face instantly felt hot as a looked back down.

"You only have a _Magikarp_?!" He laughed once more. "There are over six hundred Pokémon in the world and all you could get was a _Magikarp?_" His laughter was really starting to unnerve me.

"He could beat you." My voice was small, barely more than a whisper. I almost regretted saying it as soon as it escaped my mouth.

"What was that? He could beat _me?_" He laughed once more. "Alright, then. You're on! I'll even be nice and only use my starter." I looked up and gave the harshest glare I could muster. I obviously wasn't successful as he snickered. We both stepped back to create a battleground, and so it began.

"Let's go, Ty." My Magikarp leapt out of the water and flopped in front of me. Rylan smiled in amusement. Boy, did I need to beat that guy.

"Go, Zander!" He flung a Pokéball into the air. It broke open with the white flash of light to reveal a white and red Pokémon with long claws. It was rather small and furry. I recognized it as a Zangoose. "He was directly transported from Hoenn. He's already a level fifteen!" I gulped at that last remark. It was one thing for Ty to defeat a few level ten Magikarp, but a trained Zangoose at that level would be completely different.

"Into the water," I yelled. Ty obliged happily and dove into his familiar territory. I was caught off guard when Rylan smiled.

"Swords Dance!" The Zangoose began to move in an intimidating manner as it prepared for attack. "You're move hot shot." I just gaped. I was hoping for an attack so I could use my strategy.

"Uh, tackle!" Ty surged out of the pond and struck the enemy. It stumbled back a little but held its ground. "Back in the water!"

"Quick Attack!" Ty wasn't able to avoid the charging Pokémon. He was knocked to the side and into a tree. He hit the ground with a thud but wasn't out.

"Knock him into the water!" I yelled in desperation. He flopped up and tried to follow the command. Unfortunately, his attack wasn't powerful enough to do more than shove the Zangoose.

"Scratch!" Rylan commanded. Zander followed and charged at Ty with his claws ready to strike.

"Dodge it!" I pleaded. My Magikarp was only able to flop to the side a little before being struck by the attack. Luckily, he had changed the angle enough to be thrown into the pond. I was only hoping he had survived the hit. I soon had my answer as he poked his head up.

I racked my brain for something I could do. Ty had to stay in the water if we wanted a chance to win. Then I realized he had one other move to use.

"Splash it!" Rylan looked at me in confusion. He couldn't believe what I had said and, frankly, neither could I. Ty followed the order anyway and sent a splash of water toward the Zangoose. The only result was an aggravated enemy that was now wet.

"Fury Cutter." Rylan was no longer yelling commands. He now had composure in his voice, and it worried me. Zander rushed toward the water where Ty was waiting. Now was the time to put the plan into action.

"Tackle!" Ty leapt just as the Zangoose neared and hit him square in the face. It flew back onto the shore.

"Quick Attack." Rylan hadn't been fazed as he held the same tone of voice. It almost sounded arrogant. His starter was fast and hit Ty before he was able to dive under. He was down and out as he floated in top of the water.

I returned him hurriedly and gathered up my things. Rylan returned his Zangoose and proceeded to approach me with a hand held out. I looked up with anger.

"Pay it up," he said without hiding the joy in his voice. I stared back in confusion. "Your money. Give me half for winning. Those are the rules."

I gulped at the newfound knowledge and dug around in my pockets. His reward was only a feeble eight dollars as I didn't have a lot of money on me. I found some victory in the disappointed look on his face as he snatched it up.

"You best keep an eye out for me," he snarled as he put the money in his pocket. "I'm entering the Gym Circuit in a few months. It's gonna be my first step to becoming great." I rolled my eyes at that. He was far too arrogant for my liking. With a final snicker about my starter, he walked off toward the north.

I was left alone with an unconscious Pokémon, eight dollars, and wet clothing. It was a very miserable feeling. I quickly put my jacket back on, grabbed my bag, and headed back toward Mahogany. It had been one hell of a day.

_Who does he think he is? _I thought to myself. _He'll be great over my dead body! _I began trudging through the grass down the route. My anger seemed to keep any wild Pokémon at bay. _I'm the one who's going to be great! I don't care if it takes forever!_

Training Ty had given me a sense of accomplishment. I was actually doing what I had dreamed of my entire life. I was a real Pokémon trainer! I just wish I could have kept my mouth shut with Rylan. I really didn't need to have my confidence crushed. As I walked down that path, though, I made a promise to myself. Even if I didn't become Champion or a Gym Leader or even an eight badge winner, I was going to do something that would make people remember me. I wasn't going to be another trainer to fly under the radar. People were going to talk about me after I'm gone. I was going to matter.

Sometimes, when I look back on that day, it scares me how successful I've been with my goals.


	3. Chapter 3: Decisions, Decisions

As I continued with my story, I quickly realized just how intent this girl was on listening. Her eyes were always locked on me with the utmost interest. She never interrupted and remained silent when I did as well. It just baffled me how much she seemed to care about what I had to say. Nobody had expressed this much concern for me in years.

It almost made me feel bad for not telling her the whole truth. The memories were the real deal, but what came out of my mouth was far less. I just didn't want her to know all of the details. Not only did it make me nervous to even think of, but there were certain parts that she really didn't need to know. Nobody really needed to know them.

Either way, I continued with my little tale that was good enough to hold her attention. That's all that mattered to her. It was enough for me. The words came flowing out of my mouth and, yet again, the memories flooded my mind.

* * *

I had made it back to Mahogany after the battle with Rylan without difficulty. That was something I would be ever grateful for. Joy greeted me happily as I walked toward the front desk and handed her my Pokéball. Ty was healed soon enough and was back by my side. After all I had been through, I figured I had done enough for the day and headed home.

I walked inside to find my father talking on the phone. He seemed disgruntled as he spoke harshly to the person on the other end. It wasn't exactly yelling, but he definitely wasn't happy. My mother was sitting in the kitchen with a worried look on her face.

"What's going on?" I asked her, realizing something wasn't right. She gave me a look that seemed to be a mix of sorrow and annoyance.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," she responded rather coldly. I was taken aback and began to skulk away. "I'm sorry, honey." I stopped and turned back toward her. "There are some things that your father and I must deal with that we don't want you to be worried about." Her explanation didn't comfort me, but I faked an understanding nod and walked away.

The rest of the day was spent mostly in my room. After the crushing defeat, the fear that came with walking without a conscious Pokémon, and the treatment I received from my parents, I didn't feel like doing much. I really just wanted to crawl in bed and sleep until tomorrow. Unfortunately, it was only three in the afternoon.

I released Ty to let him swim around in his tank. He seemed to sense my unease as he swam without much energy. It almost seemed like pity. Together, we let all the problems we had faced flow through our systems.

That was how most of the next few months went. We didn't do a lot of training in fear of losing more battles (and money). Most of our time was spent in my room where I spoke to him about the issues we had. I've never really understood why I decided to do that seeing as how he never responded, but it was calming nonetheless.

Eventually, the day came when I realized what I was really doing. Ty was being deprived of good training time. We had gone out on occasion to battle some other Magikarp, but he hadn't leveled up since the day we met Rylan. That had been three months earlier. It was time to play catch up.

I rolled out of bed where I had been staring at the ceiling and grabbed my things. After quickly speaking with my parents, I headed outside into the cold weather. As I said, it had been three months since I had met Rylan. That had been during the fall. Now the air was filled with a harsh chill that ran through me to my core. The only thing that kept me from turning around was the thought of Ty not being able to battle.

Trudging through the snow, I headed west toward Route 42. I knew I could find some water for fishing there. Hopefully the winter hadn't frozen it over. The sun glaring of the shimmering surface told me that luck was on my side. I situated myself near the water's edge. Ty was released, and he quickly jumped into the pond. I was shocked as to how he could handle the cold air mixed with the undoubtedly cold water. It didn't seem to bother him though.

After my first catch of the day, I soon found myself with a small dilemma. The ponds on the route were not filled with Magikarp like 43 was. These waters held Goldeen. And Goldeen were stronger than Magikarp. Ty soon found himself dodging Horn Attacks and experiencing much longer battles with the more durable fish. Luckily, it helped with his experience. After the fourth win, he had leveled up to seventeen.

That was enough to make me consider heading home for the day. I looked back in the direction of Mahogany while I thought it over. Some movement caught my eye. It was over near the entrance of Mt. Mortar. I was too far away to see it very well, so I decided to return Ty and go investigate.

As I neared the cave opening, I began to hear voices. They were adults, and they sounded very secretive. That caused me to be cautious with my movements. I crept up behind a bush and peered through toward the people.

It was three men who were all clad in navy. Everything from their pants to the ski caps on their heads was the exact same shade. One was tall and lean, the second was smaller in stature, and the third was bulky. They definitely didn't want to make their conversation public as they huddled underneath a tree and spoke quietly. I was barely able to hear them.

"We have to start being careful," the tall one said. "The public can't know yet." That certainly sparked my interest.

"We know that." It was the small one who had responded. "We're taking all of the right precautions. People are just suspicious."

"Well we can't afford to be caught!" The tall man quickly hushed his voice before it grew too loud. "If this movement is going to work, we need the right support before announcing it to the world!" The small man looked away.

Who were these guys? They definitely seemed to be planning something sinister or perhaps illegal. They couldn't be Rockets. They had dissolved many years ago and didn't wear navy. Was this possibly the beginnings of a new criminal organization? I shivered at the thought.

My legs were beginning to get sore, so I shifted my weight a bit. I froze in place after the bush rustled rather noisily. The three men went silent and stared at the spot where I was concealed. I glared at the ground, not moving or even breathing. I could hear the men whispering in panic.

I held my position for what felt like an eternity. No men came rushing through to take me away or worse. I decided to press my luck and look through the bush. I practically collapsed in relief when I saw the men had disappeared. It was definitely time to get out of there.

I got up out of my hiding spot and began to walk back toward Mahogany. After witnessing that ordeal, I wasn't in any mood for training again. Unfortunately, I had wasted my luck on avoiding the men. A wandering trainer came upon me.

"Hey, kid," he beckoned. "You a trainer?" I gulped and nodded slowly. After the last trainer battle I had experienced, I wasn't ready for a second, no matter how long it had been. "Let's battle. Now."

"Uh, I'd rather not." I couldn't keep the small amount of panic out of my voice. Who could blame me? I was a ten year old boy with only a Magikarp to his name.

"And why the hell not?" This guy wasn't backing down. He was definitely old enough to be a Gym Circuit trainer. There was no way I could accept the challenge. "Look. You're a trainer. I'm a trainer. I challenged you to a battle. You must oblige by the rules of training. There's no backing down." I gulped once more.

"A-Alright," I stuttered. A sinking feeling formed in my gut. There was no way this could end well.

"Alright!" His attitude seemed to brighten with my giving in. "Let's do this!" He tossed his Pokéball to the ground and it burst open to reveal a small four-legged creature with a leaf growing out of its head. Studying my PokéDex taught me it was a Chikorita, a grass type.

"Give it your best Ty." I dropped his ball at my feet, and he was released. My face burned red as my opponent began to laugh. For a moment, I thought he would be too incapacitated to battle. That would be a sad way to avoid this situation.

"That's what you have?!" His tone aggravated me. "I see now why you wanted to avoid this." He snickered again but seemed to get a little more serious.

"Into the water!" I yelled. Ty did so to begin our only strategy. There was no other way to avoid total defeat.

"Tricky," the trainer remarked. "Fish it out Rita!" His Pokémon ran to the water's edge and stuck its leaf in. Without any command from me, Ty bit into it. He was flung out of the pond instantly.

"Tackle it!" I cried desperately. He followed the orders and hit the enemy in its side. It wobbled a little before finding its footing again.

"Razor leaf!" I could feel the color drain from my face. The sharp leaves hit Ty with great impact. He was lying still on the ground, grappling with consciousness.

"C'mon, Ty!" I yelled. "Get back in the pond!" He feebly flopped back into the water. It seemed to give him some strength, though as he dove under with some power.

"Get him back up here!" The Chikorita dipped its leaf once more. Before Ty could bite it, I acted.

"Tackle, now!" He burst out of the water and struck the enemy in the face. It landed on its back and seemed to be in some pain. That sent a surge of confidence through me. Maybe this wasn't so hopeless.

"Get up, Rita!" His Pokémon struggled to get to its feet. Ty had definitely left a mark. "PoisonPowder the water!" There went the color in my face again. I wasn't sure if his strategy would work, but if it did, it would certainly end badly. Luckily, the attack dissolved on contact without any noticeable effect.

"Send it a splash!" Without revealing himself, Ty was able to soak the foe. It didn't work as well as it had before since this time he was facing a grass type. The Chikorita simply shook off the excess water and returned to its attack stance.

"Razor Leaf the hell out of the pond!" The trainer was getting frustrated with the battle. It made me feel a little better about this whole thing. Ty and I were finally becoming a decent team. Well, at least decent enough to annoy a wandering trainer. My happy thoughts were soon erased when a leaf caught the top of his dorsal fin that was poking out of the water. It tipped him onto his side and caused him to flail. "Finish it!" One more Razor Leaf and Ty was done.

I hung my head in defeat, refusing to look the victor in the eye as he marched toward me. My shame caused my face to burn in embarrassment. I almost felt stupid for having so much hope.

"I have to admit," he said, "you put up a nice fight." That got my head up rather quickly. I hadn't been expecting praise. "I've never seen a Magikarp battle like yours. You may have something special there. Just wait 'til he evolves!" I cocked my head curiously. I figured Ty would evolve, but I wasn't sure what into. I had always assumed it wasn't anything too special.

I handed over half of my money for the loss and the trainer went on his way. But he had left me with something to really think about. What _did _Magikarp evolve into? Was it really that big of a deal? Was I actually going to have a decent Pokémon? And when would it happen?

Those questions paled in comparison to the big one that had control over my thoughts: how could I counter Ty's weaknesses? He was already an incredibly vulnerable Pokémon, but his weaknesses only made it worse. I needed to tweak my strategy to combat them.

Or maybe I needed something else.

* * *

I returned Ty and gathered my things. My walk of shame back to town was all too familiar. I made a mental note to try and not let that happen again.

During the trek, my mind was wrapped around beating Ty's weak points. Changing the strategy was a definite option, but it might not be enough. There was one other option I had in mind, but I didn't think I could pull it off at the time. It would cost a bit of money and time. I could catch another Pokémon.

That would require purchasing a Pokéball, though. I didn't really have that kind of money. Yes, I could buy one, but it would leave me next to broke. Asking my parents wasn't really an option as they could only afford to buy me a Magikarp as a starter.

Even if I did get another ball, I wasn't assured a new Pokémon. There was always the chance that my target broke free and wasted my one shot. If that were to happen, I would be out a lot of money. It all sounded far too risky. But I could really use a new partner.

I finally reached the Pokémon Center after a good deal of walking. Luckily, nothing bothered me on the way. Nurse Joy happily healed Ty and handed his Pokéball over. I thanked her and headed home. Maybe my starter could provide some insight to the dilemma I faced. I laughed at that thought. A Magikarp with insight, ha!

Ty stared at me blankly from his tank. He wasn't doing much else. I let out a sigh as I hadn't gotten any further with the issue.

"C'mon, Ty," I pleaded. "Help me out here. Do you want a new partner?" No response. He was obviously going to be just as much help as I had thought he would be. I decided to take a risk and ask my parents for some money. The worst that could happen would be them saying no.

I found them both in the living room. My father was looking weary and worn out. My mother wasn't much better. I immediately felt nervous. Something was going on that had them troubled, and they weren't telling me. It wasn't really the time to ask for money.

"What do you need, sweetie?" my mother asked. Her voice sounded tired and a little weaker than usual.

"Uh, I was just wondering," I began. The two looked at me curiously, waiting for me to continue. "Um, could I have some money for a Pokéball?" They let out a sigh that didn't sound too reassuring.

"What do you need that for?" my father asked. "You already have one Pokémon to train. Why do you need a second?" I gulped.

"Ty is weak with electricity and grass Pokémon. I want something to beat that." That didn't seem to strengthen my argument.

"Don't you have money?" my mother inquired. "You already have an allowance. Or did you lose it all battling?" My eyes looked toward the ground.

"I lost half of it today." I could practically feel the looks of disapproval boring through my head. "B-but with another Pokémon, I could start winning battles!" I tried to add some cheer to my voice.

"It's already a big responsibility to take care of Ty." My father spoke this time. "Two Pokémon would be twice the responsibility if not more." He let out a sigh as I gave my best Growlithe puppy look. "Fine. If you buy your own Pokéball, you can have another Pokémon." I scowled. That wasn't the result I had been going for. I wasn't about to argue, though.

At that moment, I made the decision to buy the ball. I just had to save it for a moment when I was positive I could catch something. It would be either a fire or ground type. I only wished I lived in Hoenn as a Numel would have been perfect. Either way, at least one of Ty's weaknesses was going to be countered.

I headed up to my room to reveal my decision to Ty. He responded the same way he responded to everything: with a blank stare. I reached into the water and stroked his smooth head. He didn't need to respond. All that mattered was that I was getting a new Pokémon. It was the next step towards greatness.

* * *

The cashier looked down at meet expectantly. I wasn't returning the gaze as I fumbled with my money. I only had one hundred and eighteen dollars. That number was about to drop significantly.

"Are you gonna buy something, kid?" the cashier asked impatiently. He wasn't making the process any easier for me.

"Y-Yes," I replied shakily. I was still unsure about giving up that much of my earnings. The thought of being able to earn it back with winning was enough to shake the uncertainty. "I'll take one Pokéball."

"Here." He shoved the ball into my hands. "That's fifty bucks." I handed it over uneasily. Once it was over, though, I rush of excitement flowed through me. I now had a Pokéball! My new partner was that much closer to being mine. I could hardly contain myself as I walked outside.

How long would it be until I had my next Pokémon? I figured it would be a little while since there wasn't a lot of diversity in the area. I would just have to wait for the right moment. That moment would be a defining one for my training career. It would decide whether I could sink or swim in the world.

It would happen a lot sooner than I had ever expected.


	4. Chapter 4: It Happens For a Reason

As I continued, the girl remained the same. She never asked questions, never yawned or lost interest, never got up and walked away. She simply sat on the ground before me and watched with attentive eyes.

It was this that kept me from stopping. At multiple points, I began to question myself. Those would quickly pass as I looked at her again. It was almost like a daughter listening to her father's stories. Of course, that was a little weird to think about seeing as I was only maybe five years older, but that was still the attention she gave.

The memories only faltered as much as my speaking did. I would pause to gather my thoughts and re-enter reality, but as soon as the story progressed, I found myself indulged in remembrance once more. This time was no different.

* * *

I was awakened by the shrill alarm going off on my nightstand. Ty received the effect as well as I heard him splash in annoyance. I quickly silenced the sound and rolled out of bed. No plans had been made for the day, so I decided to make some of my own.

Ty was put in his ball and I dressed quickly. My parents were already awake downstairs. My father was on the phone again. It was becoming a strangely common occurrence. The calls were never pleasant, either as I always found him stressed or angry. Whoever was calling was bothering him severely.

"Why are you up so early?" my mother asked inquisitively. Her face was no happier than it had been for the past week. These phone calls certainly had a strong effect.

"I'm going to Route 43," I answered rather cheerfully, hoping to lighten the mood. "I bought a Pokéball yesterday!" She cocked her head in surprise.

"Oh, really? So you're going to catch another partner?" I nodded excitedly. That's exactly what I planned to do. "Well be safe and don't travel too far!" I nodded and headed toward the door. I would be careful alright. No need to be wasting Pokéballs!

The air in Mahogany was as cold as ever. A thin blanket of snow coated the ground, and a bone chilling wind whistled through the trees. I shivered and bundled up tightly in my jacket as I hiked north toward the route.

Searching for Pokémon in the winter was not the ideal choice, but being a young trainer, excitement drove me. Anything I could have found seemed to be hiding from the cold. I released Ty and hoped he could bring some sort of heightened senses to help with the search. Of course there was no such luck. He simply whined as he flopped in the snowy grass. I quickly returned him and continued my walk, listening for any sounds in the brush.

My head snapped around as I heard a slight rustling. Something was moving, and I wanted to know what. I approached the sound cautiously, careful not to make any movements that might scare the thing off, and peered into a bush. I was quickly tackled to the ground by a white, and rather fluffy, blur.

I gathered myself and rubbed the snow from my eyes to take a good look at my assailant. It turned out to be much less intimidating that I originally thought. I was locked in a staring contest with a Mareep.

The wild sheep sparked a little as a warning. I took a step back and reached for Ty's ball. That option was soon thrown aside as I remembered his weakness. There were only two other options: run and hope the thing was slower, or try to catch it. The latter was less appealing as I really didn't want an electric sheep. It wouldn't help Ty at all. That left one option.

I turned and began to run in the direction which I came. That plan was soon foiled as I felt a shock run down my spine, and the ground quickly greeted my face. The thing had zapped me! I groaned as I rolled on to my back. That was bad choice number two once I had a Mareep on my stomach. It wasn't all that light either.

My eyes closed in anticipation of another electric attack, but it never came. There was only a bleat and a thump. I opened my eyes and looked at the wild Pokémon now on the ground. Its attacker stood next to it, a scrawny looking thing with leaves for hands and a bulbous yellow head. I recognized it as a Bellsprout.

I slowly rose to my feet and warily faced the possible opponent. It was just my luck for it to be the other of Ty's weaknesses. The Pokémon stared at me with what didn't seem to be anger. It almost seemed indifferent. Then why had it attacked the Mareep? And why was a Bellsprout all the way up on Route 43?

My questions were soon answered as I heard some more rustling in the bushes behind me. I turned around in time to see a young girl who seemed about my age walking toward me. She had light brown hair that fell just below her shoulders, a slim figure, and green-blue eyes that scanned me curiously.

"You gotta watch out for those," she stated, pointed toward the Mareep that was running away. "They can be pretty tough. Where's your Pokémon at?" I was at a loss for words. This trainer, this _girl _trainer, had just saved me from an electrocution and was now talking casually with me.

"U-Um, he's right here," I answered, holding out Ty's Pokéball.

"Why didn't you use him? He coulda been the one saving you!" She giggled at her remark. It became laughter once I released my starter. She was nearly doubled over. "Now I don't blame you!" She said in between laughs. I could feel my face redden in embarrassment. Not only had I needed to be saved from a Mareep, but now I was showing off my wimpy starter.

"He's not that bad," I said quietly. I quickly zipped my lip once I realized what I had said. The last time I bragged about Ty, it had ended with a bad loss to Rylan. I wasn't about to repeat the event. She stopped her laughing fit and suddenly looked at me with the look a mother gives a child who just questioned her opinion.

"Prove it," she challenged. As if on cue, a Pidgeotto hopped out from the brush. Just great. "Take out that guy!" She pointed at the bird excitedly, and I let out a sigh. "Tell ya what. If you can take out that Pidgeotto with your little Magikarp, I'll buy you lunch." That made the challenge a bit more agreeable.

"You're on!" My embarrassment was soon washed away. I knew I could do this again. Well, at least I hoped I could. "Ty, flick up some snow!" He followed the command and created a snow globe effect around the enemy. It screeched in annoyance and shook its now snowy feathers. "Quick, tackle it!" The bird soon had another issue as it received a Magikarp to the face.

The girl started to watch in what seemed like amazement. That sent my confidence through the roof. Ty was soon thrown back at my feet, but he was far from done. He was quickly flopping in anticipation of my next command.

"Give him some more snow!" I shouted. "Aim for the face." The Pidgeotto soon had snow-filled eyes and began to squawk angrily. It being a flying type didn't help with fending off the snowy attacks. "One more tackle!" Ty flew at the bird again and landed a harder hit. It was quickly down and out. I pumped my fist in victory and rushed over to my starter. He shared the same happiness as I did.

My joy was soon interrupted by some clapping coming from behind me. I turned and saw it was coming from the girl who was baffled by what she had just seen.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "How did you get your Magikarp to understand you so well?" I simply shrugged. I had thought all starters listened to their trainers. "That was really something!" With that, she began to walk off. I stood there, confused as to whether she had forgotten the deal or was simply trying to avoid paying up. I soon had my answer when she turned around. "Aren't coming? You do eat, don't you?" I turned red once more and returned Ty, rushing to catch up with her.

She looked at me funnily as I stumbled up next to her. I quickly righted myself and began to walk as if nothing happened.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

"There's this place downtown my grandma owns. It has the best food, and I get it for free!" She smiled cheerfully. She seemed to be a happy person. "By the way, I'm Cyan." I cocked my head in confusion.

"You're a color?' She laughed at that and my face was once again red. It was becoming too common of an occurrence.

"No, that's my name, silly." She lightly punched me in the shoulder and continued walking. "What's yours?"

"M-Michael," I stuttered. "Michael Blackburn."

"Well that's catchy. It sounds like a real trainer name!" I looked down sheepishly. I had never really been complimented outside of my family.

The remainder of our walk consisted mostly of her poking and prodding for information. I was able to rest when she started talking about her life. I learned she was from a long line of fighting type trainers. She had been given a Ralts as her starter with a Dawn Stone for it to evolve later. She was breaking the chain, though, and planned to have a diverse team. That explained the Bellsprout. Her story went on for a while before we finally arrived at the restaurant.

It looked like a small shack that hadn't been well kept. I looked at her for confirmation. She nodded and led me inside. There were maybe seven tables crammed in the small floor space. There was a bar in front of a small kitchen window. The place was near deserted save a lone man sitting at one of the tables.

"Grammy!" Cyan called out. "We've got company!" A small, old lady hobbled out of the kitchen door and around the bar. She was as tall as me and had silver hair wrapped up in a bun.

"Who is this young man?" she asked in a strong voice. It caught me off-guard.

"This is Michael. He's a trainer like me!" Cyan smiled happily as though to better my image. "We're here for some lunch." The lady nodded and hobbled back to the kitchen, shouting food orders the whole way. "You'll love the food." Cyan turned to me. "Grammy makes the best stuff in Johto!" I simply nodded without response.

The lunch was a delicious break from all the excitement I had been experiencing. The food was some sort of fried meat that tasted amazing. Cyan spent the whole time telling me the history of the place. I listened as much as I could with her voice speeding through it all.

"And that's how I got Bellsy, here." She motioned to her Bellsprout as she finished telling me of his origins. "What about Ty? What's his story?" I finished a bite of food and took a drink. There wasn't really much to say, but I still felt like prolonging it.

"He was a gift from my parents," I answered finally. She had a blank almost unbelieving look on her face. I averted my eyes.

"Your parents got you a _Magikarp?_" Her tone didn't help my pride. "There are so many other Pokémon out there, and they gave you the worst of the worst."

"It's because of money." I tried to sound convincing but failed rather badly.

"So what? There are others that are almost as cheap as a Magikarp that are much better. You could've had a Pichu or a Cleffa. Those aren't very expensive. Plus their evolutions are more, uh, tame." She giggled at that and left me puzzled. The look on my face showed it. "What? Don't you know what Ty evolves into?" I shook my head. Why was it such a big deal? "Well then I leave it up to you to find out." She shot me a sly smile and winked. There was obviously something important that I was missing.

After we both had finished she surprised me with a piece of paper. I took it and examined the numbers she had written. I held it up in confusion.

"That's my phone number, silly," she clarified. I nodded and examined it once more. This was the first I had received that wasn't family. It felt almost special. "I expect you to call me so we can train! Write down yours." She handed me a napkin and I did so. "Great! Now we can meet up again sometime!" I nodded without saying a word. This whole socializing thing was still new to me.

After realizing how late it was, I said good-bye to Cyan and headed home. As I walked, I thought of how training had added so much excitement to my life. It had only been a few months, and I had already been through a lot. I couldn't even imagine how small it would all seem down the road.

* * *

I bolted up in my bed alertly. The sounds of screaming had ended my slumber. A vile smell filled the room. I could feel heat coming from my opened door. I sprang to the floor to go investigate.

I soon found myself in the hallway with no recollection of walking. Everything was a dull gray color, but the screaming still persisted. It seemed to be coming from the end of the corridor. I began to walk slowly. My head was fuzzy and couldn't comprehend what was happening. I couldn't think straight.

My parents' bedroom door was in front of me. I put an ear to it to try and hear what was inside. I recoiled instantly as my skin touched the steaming hot wood. I let out a cry, but all that could be heard was that nonstop screaming.

I covered my ears to try and muffle it but to no avail. It pierced my head and eliminated any chance for thought. It had to be coming from the bedroom.

I wrapped my hand in my shirt and pounded on the door. I tried to yell for my parents, but all that came out was a weak whisper. Nobody came to rescue me from the wailing. I decided to burst in with force.

Soon enough, I found myself lying on the ground with an aching shoulder. The door hadn't budged, and I had no memory of bashing into it. The whole situation was incredibly strange. I wrapped my hand once more and turned the doorknob.

Once the burning sensation ceased, I crawled inside the room to search for somebody. The screaming was so loud; I had forgotten my reasoning for going inside anyway. All I ended up finding was an orange blaze singing my face. I backed away instantly.

What was going on? Why was there a fire in my parents' room? It was nowhere else in the house. I soon realized the screaming was the fire alarm. I jumped up to knock it out and relieve myself of the noise.

Once it was gone, I had my thoughts back. The first to pop into my head was the thought of my parents being trapped in the blaze. I rushed back into the room to find them. The fire was intense as I had to shield my face from harm.

My cries couldn't be heard over the crackling. An orange and red ring soon surrounded me. I had nowhere to turn. I crumbled to the floor and held my legs to my chest. A voice ended up getting my attention. It was unmistakably my father's.

I looked around the room for him, but he wasn't to be found. His voice was persistent, though. A hand touched me on the shoulder, causing my head to snap up. That was where I found him.

He was hovering over me in a ghost-like form. My mouth went dry.

"It'll all be alright, son," he said soothingly. "Everything will be alright." I let out a scream that couldn't be heard as the fire closed in.

* * *

I woke up in my bed with a cold sweat. My breathing was heavy and my blankets were thrown every which way. My mother soon hurried into the room with a worried look on her face.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly. "Your father and I heard screaming." Had I really been screaming?

"I-It was just a b-bad d-dream," I responded shakily. Every inch of me was terrified, but I was so thankful that was all it had been.

"Oh, my poor sweetie." She wrapped me in a hug and kissed my hair. "It'll be alright." The words sent a shiver down my spine. "Everything will be alright." She kissed me once more and tucked me back in. With that, she went back to resume her sleeping.

It wasn't so easy for me. The sight of my father as a ghost scared me to all ends. And what about the things my mother said? If only I had been able to piece together everything.


	5. Chapter 5: New Experiences

I looked up at the young girl. She was fast asleep on the ground. I hadn't even noticed her being engulfed in my memories. She was curled up in a ball and snoring softly. Apparently my stories weren't quite entertaining enough.

Being the good person I thought myself to be, I kept my spot. I didn't find it favorable to leave a little girl sleeping alone on the route. Instead, I leaned back against the rock behind me and closed my eyes. Might as well rest while I had the chance.

My mind slowly drifted into slumber before I could react. I hadn't realized just how tired I was. When had I slept last? Dreams soon crept into my head. Of course, after telling the story, they were all filled with the memories of an earlier life.

* * *

It was a few days after I met Cyan. Ty was restless because I had decided to let him rest up. After all, he _had _battled quite a bit recently. He really needed a break. Apparently, that wasn't to his liking as he thrashed about in his tank.

"Calm down, Ty!" I said. "We can go train some more today; just not right now!" That seemed to settle his flailing. I sighed in relief and went back to the issue at hand. I was about to ask my parents what was going on. The phone calls my father was receiving were ruining his mood and making me uneasy. It was time to get some answers.

I walked downstairs, leaving Ty in his tank, and entered the living room where my parents were. They both looked up as I walked in with false happiness covering their faces. I could tell they were both worn and annoyed.

"We need to talk," I said sternly, keeping my mother from saying whatever she was preparing to say. Their façades quickly dissolved as their worry appeared quickly.

"What about, honey?" my mother asked a little too innocently.

"What's with all the phone calls?" I looked toward my father, watching as he looked down at his coffee in order to avoid my stare. "You keep getting calls, and they keep making you mad."

"Sweetie, I told you not to worry," my mother answered. "It's not a problem for you. It's for us to deal with." I scowled at her to express my annoyance.

"I'm living with parents who haven't been happy for a while. These phone calls are causing it. What is happening?" My voice grew louder to show my seriousness. I was tired of being treated like a little kid. I was a trainer.

"Don't talk to your mother that way!" My father was now in the conversation, and he wasn't happy. "_We _are the parents here! That means we make the rules! This problem is not for you! Now that is that! This discussion is over!"

I stood in the middle of the room silently. There wasn't a thing I could say at that point. Anything that came out of my mouth would just further enrage my father. That hadn't gone nearly as well as I hoped it would.

"Honey, don't take this badly." I turned to my mother with tears lining my eyes. I felt betrayed at the moment. My own parents wouldn't were keeping secrets from me. All I had wanted was to be treated seriously. I turned around and ran back upstairs, wiping my eyes.

Ty looked up happily as I burst into my room. I pulled out his Pokéball and returned him quickly. I needed to get out of the house. Route 43 was the place I had in mind. Calling Cyan had been a possibility briefly, but I soon decided I just wanted to be alone.

I ran down the stairs and out the front door without waiting for my parents to object. The cold air was almost welcoming as I stepped outside. I began storming off to the north without any plan as to what I wanted to do. The route was just a familiar place for me to be.

Before I was able to get far, I was shoved to the ground. I brushed off the snow and looked up to find a very angry man. He seemed to be gathering himself as though he had ran into something.

"Watch where you're going, kid!" he seethed at me. I shot him a glare that wasn't too intimidating as he stormed off. "Damn kids. 'Bout as worthless as that damned Pokémon." I let him go without argument. I'd had enough of angry people.

As I continued my trek, patches of melted snow began to appear. It was strange because the weather wasn't near warm enough to melt anything. They seemed to lead to a patch of bushes that, oddly enough, were snow-free as well. My curiosity led me to investigate.

I approached the bush and pushed back some of the leaves. I could see a yellow thing inside but wasn't able to get a better look before I was reeling backwards with a burning face. The thing had shot a flame at me. Granted, it wasn't very powerful, but it was still hot!

After successfully clawing away the heat, I gathered myself and walked to the bush once more. The possibility of a fire Pokémon intrigued me. This time I was much more cautious as I peered inside. I made sure not to rustle any leaves or make any sound. What I found was astonishing.

Through a gap in the bush, I was able to identify the thing. It was a very ill-looking Charmander. It was curled up around two halves of a broken Pokéball. I looked closer and realized that it seemed to be weeping. I had never seen a Pokémon cry before, but this one sure was.

I decided to try and help the poor thing and pulled back some of the bush. I dodged the shot of fire that I anticipated and quickly grabbed the helpless thing. It wiggled and writhed in my grasp, and I was soon forced to let go.

Once it was on the ground, it backed away slowly and stared at me, growling. It definitely wasn't happy and, judging by the yellow color of its skin, seemed to be sick. Weren't Charmander supposed to be orange? I had no time to think before a shot of fire landed before my feet.

I jumped in shock and released Ty. Hopefully his type advantage could help here despite not actually knowing any water moves. Upon seeing him, the Charmander backed away even more. It seemed truly frightened by all that was going on.

Then it suddenly hit me. I remembered back to just before I found the thing. The angry man who had bumped into me was ranting about a Pokémon. The Charmander had been cradling a broken Pokéball. The man had released it.

What should I do here? The Pokémon didn't seem to trust anything, but I couldn't in my right mind leave it out in the wild. If it was as weak as the man seemed to think, it wouldn't last very long. The thought of having a fire Pokémon to combat Ty's grass weakness suddenly popped into my head. I decided at that moment to catch the Charmander.

"Tackle, Ty!" I commanded. He instantly flew into the air and landed a nice hit. The other Pokémon was obviously not at a high level as the hit seemed to have a strong effect. It wobbled a bit and seemed dazed. It shot an ember at Ty in frustration, but the attack hardly did anything.

I ordered Ty to attack once more. The hit weakened the Charmander to the point where I felt comfortable enough. I threw my empty Pokéball at it, praying it would work. The ball captured the Pokémon inside and landed on the ground. It began to wiggle back and forth. I held my breath the whole time for what felt like an eternity. Finally, the ball dinged, signifying my success. I now owned a Charmander.

I jumped in the air a let out a cry in victory. Two Pokémon were now in my possession. I felt like a real trainer. Ty joined me in my victory cheers. He seemed to realize what was going on and was happy about it.

The Pokéball was retrieved, and I stared at it with fascination. That didn't last long as the new teammate was released. It groaned a bit and shook its head. Its eyes finally locked with mine. I was shocked to find no anger or resentment. The Charmander just seemed to accept its fate.

I approached it slowly and reached out to pet it. The touch of my hand made it flinch a little, but it allowed me to go on. As a sat there, I suddenly thought of an important matter: the Charmander needed a name.

Ideas ran through my head as I sat there lost in thought. _What could this guy be? Inferno? Nah, too long. Blaze? Too cliché. Flare? _I looked up suddenly. That was it. Flare was easy to say, not overused, and really fit the little guy well. It also worked if I found out that it wasn't a boy. The name was perfect.

Looking at my new teammate, I realized something was wrong. He (I assumed he was male) was very weak. I then remembered how Ty had to weaken him in order to catch him. Flare was still feeling the effects of that. I rummaged through my bag and finally came up with a potion. He flinched upon being sprayed but seemed to gain his strength back afterward. It was not a second too soon as I heard the crunching of snow coming from behind me.

I snapped my head around in time to see a familiar face coming out of the brush. I ducked my head and hoped he would just continue walking. No such luck.

"Hey there, buddy!" Rylan's voice shot a wave of annoyance down my spine. "What ya got there? Is that a Charmander?" He had a mocking sound of surprise in his tone. I simply shot him a glare. "I bet it's just about as worthless as your no-good starter." He laughed at my expense and began to continue walking.

"Battle," I shot at him, venomously. "Now!" He turned back with a look of shock on his face.

"You want to lose again?" I held my stare without faltering. "Suit yourself. Let's go, Zander!" His Zangoose was out and ready to battle.

"It's time for round two, Ty." He flopped in front of me but didn't look as pitiful as he did during the last battle. "Give 'em a face full of snow." He followed the command and sent the enemy back with some snow to the face. "Now tackle!" The Zangoose was knocked off balance by the sudden attack. For the moment, it seemed I had the upper hand.

"Slash!" Rylan shouted. Zander recovered from being hit and sent a claw to strike Ty. However, Ty was nowhere to be found. I would have been as bewildered as the Zangoose if I hadn't seen where he went. Luckily, Rylan hadn't noticed the lump of snow that was slowly moving toward his Pokémon.

"Tackle it, Ty!" On cue, he leapt up from his snowy cover and struck the Zangoose hard in the face. It was a hard enough hit to leave it on its butt. A smile grew on my face as Rylan started to look worried.

"Uh, Quick Attack!" The Zangoose shook its head and sped toward Ty. The blow was fairly strong as he was thrown backwards. The snow cushioned his fall.

"How 'bout a snowy Tackle?" Ty seemed to understand and began to do something rather amazing. It seemed as though he was _swimming _through the snow! He had much more speed than he had before and was on the Zangoose in no time. His attack hit critically and finished the enemy. I couldn't contain my joy. I had beaten Rylan!

"Not so fast there, hotshot." My happy thoughts were interrupted by his voice. "I've got another trick up my sleeve. We never agreed on one Pokémon." I gulped as he tossed another Pokéball to the ground.

A ghostly Pokémon rose from the ball. It was small and purple with a round head too big for its small body. I recognized it as a Shuppet. Ty retreated slightly but held a strong glare.

"Night Shade," Rylan commanded rather happily. His new Pokémon attacked with a strange attack that sent a dark wave at Ty that shook him up. He hit the ground and was a bit slow getting up.

"Ty, Tackle it!" He followed the order and shot up at the new enemy. To my dismay, he passed through it without leaving a mark. I stared without saying a word as Rylan began to cackle happily. He commanded one more Night Shade and Ty was done.

"Now what ya gonna do?" Rylan asked temptingly. There was only one option for me to salvage the battle. But I didn't know what Flare was capable of yet. Either way, I couldn't just throw the match.

"Let's go Flare!" He looked up from his resting spot and walked over. He didn't look too excited. I whipped out my PokéDex to find out what he could do. I learned he was at level ten and only knew one move that could really do anything. "Ember!" He looked at me and nodded. He then shot a flame at the Shuppet which sent it flying back. I smiled and Flare seemed to perk up.

"Night Shade, Poltergeist!" It seemed as thought that was all his Pokémon could do. It didn't hurt Flare too badly and allowed him to shoot another Ember that burned the foe. Rylan began to panic as the burn took effect. "Night Shade!" It was starting to get old. Flare thought so too as he dodged the attack and shot one more ember. That combined with the burn was enough to knock out the ghost.

I cheered victoriously as Rylan dug into his pockets. He handed over a nice eighty bucks. I took it happily and returned Flare. He seemed to be much more valuable than I had expected.

"You got lucky," Rylan spat. "Next time, there will be no contest. You _will _be stomped." With that, he stormed off toward the north. He seemed to be heading toward the lake. I had always been curious as to what it was like, but my parents seemed to think it was too dangerous for me. I might have disobeyed and gone anyway if I hadn't seen the time. It was getting late, and I didn't like the idea of being out on the wild at night with a Pokémon I just caught.

I headed back down the route with a skip in my step and a smile on my face. Okay, that sounded a little weird, but the point is, I was happy. Ty was healed by Joy, my parents didn't bother me, and I was back in my room with my newly formed team before I knew it.

Ty and Flare were both out of their Pokéballs in an attempt to have them bond. Ty was happy to have another team member, but the Charmander still seemed untrusting after being beaten by the Magikarp. Hopefully he would get used to him.

We spent the next few hours getting to know each other. I wanted so desperately to have a team that worked well together. That would help in becoming great. Our little hang out was interrupted when my father called for me. I returned Flare and left Ty in his tank.

I went into the living room and found my parents watching the news. They both pointed to the screen. I looked to see what the fuss was about and nearly gasped in shock. A reporter was standing in front of the lake and talking with a very solemn tone.

"As I said before," he stated, "police will be searching all night for young Rylan Harding. He was reported missing tonight. Witnesses say they saw a mysterious group of men snooping around the lake before the incident. Officers have been ordered to question anyone who could give information. If you can help in any way with this investigation, please call the number on the screen."

I stared at the T.V. with a gaping mouth. The boy who I had so recently battled was now missing, possibly kidnapped. It was almost surreal. Multiple pinches proved I wasn't dreaming.

"Do you know that boy?" my father asked. He didn't sound very happy as usual. He sounded almost as solemn as the reporter. I nodded slowly. He sat back in his chair and sighed. "It's just so sad that things have to happen like this."

Suddenly, I felt guilty for what had happened. I had beaten Rylan just before he went up to the lake. I had knocked out his only Pokémon. He might have escaped any tragedy if he could have defended himself. A knot grew in my stomach, and I felt close to throwing up. My mother noticed and began to come toward me. I ran out of the room before she could.

As I lay in my bed that night, I thought of Rylan. I didn't know why anybody would want to take him. What would happen to him? Would he be alive tomorrow? These thoughts didn't settle my already churning stomach.

I didn't sleep much that night. A guilty mind refused to let me.


	6. Chapter 6: Start of Something New

My memories were interrupted by a shove on my shoulder. I snapped my eyes open to see the young girl looking at me with sad eyes. I sat up and matched gazes with her.

"I'm so sorry," she half sobbed. "I fell asleep in the middle of your story! I'm sorry!" She seemed to be on the verge of tears. I chuckled a bit at the situation.

"It's alright," I said with the nicest tone I could muster. "It doesn't bother me." She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Now where were we?" That seemed to do away with any sadness as she happily sat back in her spot with a bright smile.

As I restarted my sugarcoated story, the memories took me back once more.

* * *

Rylan's disappearance controlled the news all over the town. Papers showed off his picture with headlines that struck worry in many people. Even the regional news was giving stories on the situation. It went on like this for a few weeks before dying down.

The guilt never left me, though. I continued to watch T.V. and check the internet for any signs of him. The result was always the same. A month had passed with nothing happening to help the case.

Unfortunately for me, the next few months weren't easy around the house, either. My parents were still on edge from whatever phone calls they had been receiving. There had been multiple instances where I had worked up the courage to ask about it, but the result was always the same. We would scream at each other until somebody gave up and walked away.

There were some positive moments, though. For one, I took Flare to be healed by Joy for the first time. This usually wouldn't seem that great if my situation hadn't been different. The Charmander hadn't battled or anything. I was simply worried about his color. The yellow-golden tint had me thinking he was ill.

As I released Flare for the nurse, I saw a look of utter shock appear on her face. My stomach sank at the sight. Normally, when I nurse was shocked, it wasn't a good thing. These worries soon dissipated when she spoke.

"Where did you get that?" she asked. Her tone didn't seem negative.

"I, uh, found him abandoned," I replied. "He was on route 43."

"Well this is quite incredible." I looked at her in confusion. "Don't you realize what you have here?" I shook my head slowly. Her surprised attitude had me disoriented. "This little guy is a shiny Pokémon! They're very rare. You are quite the lucky boy!"

I looked at Flare in fascination. He was a shiny Charmander! I knew what shiny meant from word of mouth, but I had never actually seen one. It was quite an incredible thing to discover.

After learning of Flare's rarity, I spent a majority of the next month battling. I found myself winning a good handful of times. Ty was up to level nineteen while his partner was at a solid fourteen. I was beginning to feel confident in my team. Of course that feeling went away whenever I returned home.

One particular day stands out in my mind. It was the later part of spring, and I was in a particularly bad mood. Allergies were bothersome, my mind had decided to worry about Rylan, and my father had received another phone call.

Once he finished it, I walked on over to him and demanded answers. My voice had gained a harsh tone from all of our previous fights. He shook his head and sighed heavily.

"Why do you keep doing this?" he asked rather forcefully. "How many times do we have to tell you before this can end? These calls are aggravating enough! I don't need you to be poking and prodding me about it!"

"Then just tell me!" I said sternly. "I just want to know what's going on! You and mom haven't been the same since these damn phone calls!"

"Don't you use that language toward me! I am your father! You will do what I say! That is that! No more argument!" I turned on my heels and darted for the front door. This was all too much for me.

My cell phone was whipped out immediately. It was time to fulfill a promise I had made awhile back.

* * *

Cyan's blue-green eyes looked at me with sheer joy. We were standing in front of her grandmother's restaurant. She was elated to finally receive a call from me. I had felt guilty about not calling sooner, but that soon faded as she began talking.

"This is gonna be great!" she exclaimed. "Let's not waste time, though. We should get right to battling!"

"What?" I asked, confused. "You want to battle me?" I took a step back in shock. I didn't want to battle my one friend. It might cause some unwanted grudges.

No, silly! We're going to team up for some double battles!" I looked at her with a blank expression. Double battles were news to me. "You know! It's when two Pokémon battle two others! We can team up and be the best ones out there!"

Before I could give my thoughts on the whole thing, I was being half dragged into town. Cyan was relentless when it came to getting what she wanted. We were soon going from place to place, looking for a potential opponent.

She soon found a boy who appeared to be a couple years older than us. He nodded as she offered him the challenge. I soon found myself on route 44 in an open clearing. Cyan was to my left in a battle stance. Our opponent stood across the clearing with some confidence. This could turn out to be an interesting matchup.

"Go, Croakie!" our opponent yelled. He flung a Pokéball that burst to reveal a funny-looking thing. I recognized it as a Croagunk. It seemed to be well trained as it began showing off some acrobatic movements. Any worries were washed away as a looked to see Cyan smiling rather happily.

"Let's go, Psyro!" she shouted. Her Ralts was released to the battlefield. He eyed the enemy Pokémon and took a fighting stance. Our opponent seemed to flinch at the sight.

"Uh, go, Lecto!" He tossed out another ball. This time, it released a small, yellow thing with a plug on its head. It was an Elekid. That narrowed down my choice for a Pokémon.

"Let's get 'em, Flare!" I shouted. He was released and let out a ring of fire to gain an intimidation factor. Both the opponent and Cyan stared in awe. I had never shown her my new teammate. Suddenly my guilt for ignoring her came back.

"When did you get that?" she asked in amazement.

"I got him a few months back. He was left on route 43." She nodded and smiled at my accomplishment. It sent a surge of pride through me.

"Let's see what he can do then!" Her confident attitude gave me some hope. We could actually win this battle. My thoughts were soon interrupted when our opponent found his voice again.

"Lecto, Thundershock the Charmander!" I gulped and hoped for the best. Luckily, the attack didn't seem to hinder Flare's confidence.

"Use a Smokescreen!" Black smoke suddenly billowed from my Pokémon's mouth. It hit the Elekid and began to surround it. Soon enough, it was completely engulfed in the fumes. It seemed as though Flare just kept on smoking the foe out.

"Croakie, Faint Attack the Ralts!" That caught my attention as the second Pokémon seemed to disappear momentarily before striking Psyro. It seemed to hit hard as the little psychic fell to the ground. Cyan wasn't fazed, though.

"Psyro, confuse that Croagunk!" Her Pokémon obeyed as it gathered itself and raised its small arms. The foe was soon writhing as the psychic attack hit. My eyes were wide as I watched it fall unconscious after the hit. Cyan grinned in confidence. "Those double weaknesses will kill ya!" Our opponent grumbled and returned the fainted Pokémon.

"Don't get too cocky!" he yelled. "Go, Missy!" He flung out another ball that released a strange floating thing that had one hell of a hair-do. It was unmistakably a Misdreavus. My confidence fell once I heard Cyan gulp. I knew what that thing could do to Psyro. "Now, Lecto, try a Shock Wave!"

I heard the Elekid begin to crackle. Soon, a wave of electricity burst from the cloud of smoke and hit Flare. He fell to the ground with small shocks running around his body. He slowly got back on his feet and let out a small roar.

"Ember!" I yelled. Flare nodded and began to power up. What happened next stunned everyone. His tail fire grew to twice its normal size as he opened his mouth to attack. He let out an Ember that was larger than any I had seen before. It entered the smoke cloud and hit the foe hard. The Elekid was thrown out of the cloud and to the ground with multiple burn marks. Flare returned to normal and let out a satisfied growl as the foe slipped into unconsciousness.

Cyan looked at me, expecting an explanation, only to get a shrug of confusion. It seemed as though my little shiny Charmander had some immense power. Why would that man ever want to get rid of it?

"Damn!" Our opponent cursed as he returned his Elekid. Our agreement before the battle was to use four Pokémon. That left one more for him to use. "Go, Wally!" He tossed his last ball onto the battlefield to reveal a bulbous blue Pokémon that could only be identified as a Wailmer. It was my turn to gulp as our opponent had now exploited one of Flare's weaknesses. "Missy, Astonish that Ralts. Wally, Water Pulse the Charmander!"

Those commands finished off our first pair of Pokémon. It didn't falter Cyan, though, so I refused to show my surprise. I released Ty while she let out her former Bellsprout that was now a Weepinbell. It was her turn to show off a new Pokémon. Luckily, we had an advantage: our opponent was too busy laughing at Ty to focus.

"Bellsy, put the ghost to sleep!" Cyan commanded. He did so quickly with a Sleep Powder. The Misdreavus was out like a light.

"Ty, Tackle the Wailmer!" My command was confident, but my intentions weren't as my Magikarp feebly bounce off the foe. It hardly seemed to do anything. This only sparked up some more laughter.

"Wally," our opponent said between cackles, "use Rollout!" I gulped as the large Pokémon started to roll toward Ty. It wasn't very fast, but it still hit rather hard. Unfortunately, the attack wasn't over as the Wailmer gained momentum. It hit Ty again before losing its speed.

"Ty, Tackle for the eyes!" I felt rather mean to say such a thing, but it was my only strategy I could use. He hit the foe and did a little more damage than his last hit. Sadly, it still didn't do much damage at all.

"Bellsy, Vine Whip the Wailmer!" Cyan's voice surprised me as she had Bellsy change targets. It made sense, though, as I looked at the sleeping ghost. This attack hit much harder than anything Ty could do. The Wailmer tumbled back and seemed to be much weaker.

"Wally, Rollout again!" Luckily, this time, the attack missed completely and sent the foe into a tree. This gave me a chance to do something.

"Ty, Tackle the tree!" His trust in me was incredible as he followed the command without question. He leapt onto the Wailmer's back and flew into the leaves. I stood and hoped my strategy worked. Soon enough, I got the result I was looking for.

A group of tree dwelling Pokémon fell out of their home and landed on the Wailmer. They instantly began to attack the poor Pokémon in anger. Ty jumped back to the ground and flopped happily in front of me. Cyan shot me a look of amazement as the wild Pokémon knocked out the foe. That left one more to go.

"Bellsy, Vine Whip!" He whacked the Misdreavus with some impressive force that, unfortunately, woke it up. It was significantly weaker, though.

"Missy," our opponent yelled in frustration, "Confuse Ray!" I realized what was happening and decided to be noble.

"Ty, take the attack!" He, being the loyal fish he was, leapt in front of Bellsy and became confused. It was the best move in the situation as his Tackles would be useless against the ghost. That left Cyan to finish it.

"Bellsy, Vine Whip!" That was the last attack needed as the Misdreavus fell to the ground unconscious. Our opponent returned it in amazement. I cheered in victory and Cyan wrapped me in a quick hug. We had won a battle as a team! That was quite the experience for me.

The defeated trainer walked over to us with a surprising grin on his face. He handed us some money and offered a handshake.

"That was some incredible battling," he said happily. "I've never seen a Magikarp like that!" I beamed with pride and looked Ty. His flopping was off due to the confusion, but he seemed happy nonetheless. "You guys could be tough!" I looked at Cyan and she met my stare. The possibility of being a permanent team sounded interesting now. It could help me with my team's weak spots and give me someone to travel with.

After bidding our opponent farewell, we headed back toward the restaurant. Cyan found her grandmother and immediately retold everything that happened. Her excitement only made me happier with the victory. She then sat down at a table with me and offered a look of amazement.

"You have shocked me again!" she exclaimed. "You have to tell me where you got that Magikarp! It jumped in front of an attack without a thought! How did you think of the tree thing too?" She began spouting off questions rapidly. All I could do was offer a bunch of 'I don't knows.'

The battle was truly something else. For the first time in a while, I felt truly elated. I could actually become excited about the future and all its possibilities. I only hoped to Arceus that Cyan would be a lifelong friend.

After talking with her for some time, I reluctantly decided to head home. I had no desire to confront my parents, but it was getting late. I said good-bye to Cyan and headed out.

My fears of my parents were confirmed as I walked in the door. They had been waiting for me. I ducked my head to avoid their angry glares.

"Where have you been?" my father asked sternly. I held my staring competition with the floor. He sighed once I didn't reply. "You can't just storm out of here, Michael. You're only ten." I shot him a glare.

"I have Pokémon," I spat. "They are strong enough to protect me!"

"We know," my mother said. "They just aren't strong enough." I stared at her in anger. How could she say such a thing about my team?

"They are strong enough! We just won a battle today! Ty took out a _Wailmer_!"

"It doesn't matter!" my father yelled. "Do you want to end up like that Rylan kid?" That was the elephant in the room. I went silent in shock. "He had Pokémon imported from other regions! He still wasn't safe from danger! Now there are going to be some new rules around here." My eyes became pleading.

"Don't argue," my mother warned. "This is the way it's going to be." I lowered my stare.

"Now, first of all, no more talking back. We are your parents. You will treat us with respect. Second, you will not leave this house without our permission. We need to know where you are. It's just too dangerous for us not to. Finally, you will not battle with your Pokémon without our supervision."

My head snapped up. I couldn't have heard correctly. It couldn't be true.

"No," I said coldly. "I'm a trainer now. I can battle my Pokémon!"

"You will do as I say, young man! There are too many bad people out there who could beat you in a battle and put you in danger."

"I have two very strong Pokémon! They will protect me! I also have a friend who has a good team! I will be safe!"

"No talking back! The rules are set! No more questions!" With that, he walked away and pulled out his phone. I ran up to my room and slammed the door behind me.

How could they do this? They were practically saying I couldn't do what I love. I couldn't become a great trainer with my parents supervising my battles! There was no way I was going to abide by their rules.

As I remember that day, I only wish I had.


	7. Chapter 7: What Lies in the Dark

The young girl was engulfed in my story once more. Her slumber didn't affect her interest in the least. In fact, it seemed to heighten it. Her eyes never wandered, she was dead silent, and she wore an expression of pure awe. Her innocence of the world was apparent in her actions.

This kept my words flowing as the story was told. To be honest, this was the most I had spoken to anybody in a long time. It felt almost relieving to simply speak. Even though I wasn't telling her near everything, it was nice to have somebody to talk to.

The memories, though, hung in my mind as if a ghost haunting me.

* * *

The situation with my parents was only getting worse. The arguments ceased after my father set the new rules, but there was obvious tension. The phone calls didn't stop, and on a couple occasions, it seemed as though I was a subject of the conversation. It only added to my curiosity.

Ty and Flare became closer as we shared some time in my room. I wasn't going out nearly as much with my parents watching me like Staraptor. We would sit around while I spoke, hoping for answers that they never gave. It did seem like they understood me, though. Flare would offer a friendly nudge while Ty tried to communicate by blowing bubbles in his tank. If anything, it was simply comforting.

There was one day, though, that I couldn't stand it anymore. My Pokémon were obviously antsy to battle and train, and I wasn't enjoying my situation much either. It was time to confront my parents again.

They were sitting in the living room as usual. I walked in with some power in my step. It got their attention well enough as they looked at me expectantly.

"We need to change things," I said without much emotion. I was trying to put on a serious façade to emphasize my point.

"What's that supposed to mean?" my father asked almost threateningly. He wasn't amused by my statement.

"I can't keep doing this. I have to go train!" A tone of begging slipped into my voice. It made me sound a little too desperate.

"We went over this already." I could hear the aggravation growing in his tone already. "It's too dangerous for you to be out alone. Now, if you really need to train, we can go out sometime this week, but you'll just have to wait." I snapped sooner than I had expected.

"That's not fair! I finally have my license! You're hardly letting me use it! Flare and Ty are dying to get out and train! You can't keep doing this!" My words had no effect on him.

"I'm sorry, Michael. There is just too much out there that could put you in danger." I was quickly losing hope.

"How would you know? We don't even know what happened to Rylan! He could have run away or something!" My father let out a frustrated sigh.

"There are things in the world that you don't know about. And you don't need to know about them now. You just have to trust your mother and me. We are doing what's best for you."

"What if I got more protection?" This question threw him off guard. Even my mother cocked her head curiously. "What if I got another Pokémon?" This led to another sigh.

"Honey," my mother said soothingly, "you don't understand what's out there. Another little Pokémon won't be enough to keep you safe." I was fuming at this point. Why were they being so overbearing? This had never happened before. It was all of those damn phone calls!

"We'll see about that." My voice was laced with venom. As far as I was concerned, they had betrayed me. If they were going to allow me to get my trainer's license, they should allow me to train.

"What?" my father asked angrily. He sent me a glare that on any other circumstance would have pierced my soul. I instantly turned and ran upstairs.

Ty and Flare looked up in surprise as I burst through the door. They were returned immediately before they could make a sound. I stuffed their minimized Pokéballs in my pocket, snatched my bag, and went back downstairs. I was out the door before I could hear my father yell.

As soon as my feet hit the outside ground, I darted off toward downtown Mahogany. I had one goal in mind, and nobody was going to keep me from it. The Mart soon came into view. I was inside in an instant, breathing heavily with people staring in confusion.

I brushed myself off, gathered my composure and walked right up to the front desk. I held out a small wad of cash to the cashier who was still giving me strange looks.

"One Pokéball, please."

* * *

I walked out of the town limits with my recently purchased item in hand. The sunlight gleamed off of it. My destination this time was Mt. Mortar. Ty was weak against electric Pokémon, and Geodude were a common sight in the cave. It would be a perfect fit.

As far as I was concerned, my parents weren't on my trail. My cell phone had been ringing constantly for awhile, so I had shut it off. Nobody seemed to be trying to find me, though.

Before I walked into the entrance of the cave, a memory stopped me in my tracks. I had suddenly thought about the mysterious men I had seen outside the place a while back. They had disappeared to who-knows-where before I could do anything. Logic suggested that they went into the cave. What if they were still in there?

I tossed around all of the pros and cons. Eventually, I decided that they couldn't possibly be in there anymore. They had just used it as a temporary hiding spot when they heard me move. And besides, I had a shiny Charmander and a powerful Magikarp to protect me. It was worth the risk to get another teammate. I regained my confidence and walked through the entrance.

The interior was quite the sight. After walking through a small tunnel, I entered a large cavern area. The ceiling was at least twenty feet high, and a large lake made up the floor. There was hardly any dry land to walk on. I simply looked around in awe.

My trance was interrupted by a wandering Machop that bumped into me. Ty was released almost on instinct. He whacked the wild Pokémon into the water before it realized what was happening. He jumped in as well to enjoy being in a more comfortable environment. I let Flare out as well to allow him to get used to the surroundings. He was wary of the lake, but seemed to get comfortable walking close to the cave's wall.

It was time to start the hunt. I motioned my team to start following me. Ty swam along the lake's edge on my left while Flare walked on my right.

"Guys," I said, "look out for any sign of Pokémon. You're getting a new teammate." Ty nodded and began scanning the area. Flare sniffed the air for any tell-tale smells. I did what I could and continued walking.

After what seemed like awhile, my target finally revealed itself. Unfortunately, it wasn't as great as I was expecting. A small avalanche of boulders fell in front of me and sent Flare scuttling back. I covered my face from the sudden kick up of dirt. When I pulled my arm away, I was looking down at a small rock with scrawny little arms. It was a Geodude.

It matched my gaze with one of its own. It didn't show anger or desire to battle; it showed weakness. The thing was very feeble in terms of Geodude. Its arms weren't very muscular, its body seemed smaller, and it didn't boast confidence. I decided to continue my search.

I signaled Flare and Ty to follow me and ignore the wild rock. We moved on by without any scuffle or difficulty. The Pokémon just watched us with almost pleading eyes. I continued to ignore it and kept walking.

After walking for a little while longer, I finally found a more suitable target. A Geodude clung to the cave wall with strong arms. It definitely seemed tough as it shoved away some Zubat that flew too close.

"Ty!" He perked up at the sound of his name. "Can you splash some water up that high?" He nodded in understanding and reared back. With a solid slap of his tail, he sent a small wave of water up that hit the Geodude on the back.

It obviously was shocked by the sudden wetness as it released its grip and fell to the ground. It wasn't hurt or weak, though. In fact, it seemed very angry. Ty was out of the water and holding his ground in front of me. Flare let out a small roar. It was time to catch my next teammate.

"Flare, Smokescreen!" I commanded. He immediately began to send smoke billowing out of his mouth in the Geodude's direction. It wasn't pleased by this and began to pound the ground. "Ty, splash some water at it!" Ty leapt into the lake and began writhing, sending his own little rain storm toward the Pokémon. That was the tipping point.

My empty Pokéball was in my hand, ready to be thrown. Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

The ground suddenly began to rumble violently. At first, I had thought the Geodude was using a Magnitude, but then I saw it scrambling back toward the cave wall. It was fleeing from something.

Everything began to shake, I was thrown off balance. To make matters worse, my new Pokéball flew out of my hand as a Geodude fell from the wall and hit my shoulder. I didn't have time to see where it went as something enormous began to rise out of the lake.

I stared in terror at the blue mass that was emerging. Ty and Flare were gathering near me, both scared of whatever was happening. I just brought them in close and hugged them for comfort.

The shaking finally stopped. I looked up to see a huge blue Pokémon floating on top of the water's surface. A man dressed in an outfit of various blue colors stood atop the beast. He stared down at me and my quivering team.

"What are you doing here?" His voice boomed out through the cave. It shot fear down my spine.

"I-I w-was catching a P-P-Pokémon," I stuttered hopelessly.

"You already have two." He seemed to stop from saying more as he caught sight of Flare. He stared at him intently. "A Magikarp and a shiny Charmander? Are you that Blackburn kid?"

I stared at him in stunning silence. How had he known me? I knew I had won a few battles and had some rather odd Pokémon, but I never thought anybody really knew my name.

"Y-Yes," I replied shakily. "H-How did you know?"

"Don't question me!" His voice was becoming angry. "Now leave this place before I set my Wailord on you!" The blue beast he stood on let out a cry in response. That was enough for me. I nodded quickly and turned toward the exit.

A gleam of red caught my eye. It was the Pokéball I had dropped. It wasn't broken open, so I grabbed it hastily, returned Ty and Flare, and darted out of the cave like a frightened Ponyta.

Once I got outside, I ran a little further away from Mt. Mortar before stopping to catch my breath. What had I just seen? Who was that man? Why did he know my name? There were so many questions I had. The only thing I was sure of was that the guy was dangerous. He had threatened to use his beast of a Pokémon to get me out of the cave. I had to tell someone.

I gathered my composure as much as I could and ran back toward Mahogany. The police needed to know about this. I would have to tell them myself. If I told my parents, they would bar me in my room for eternity. They couldn't find out about this for the sake of my training.

* * *

"Officer Jenny!" I said between gasps of air. "There, there's a man in, in Mt. Mor-Mortar!" The woman in blue stared at me in surprise.

"Slow down there," she said. "Calm down and then speak." I let out a few more heavy breaths and regained some composure.

"There's a bad man in Mt. Mortar!" The statement seemed to amuse her. Curse my age!

"Oh really? What did he do, call you names?" She laughed at her own comment. I grew red in anger.

"No! He threatened to hurt me! He had a big blue Pokémon!" What was it called? "It was a Wailord!" That seemed to catch her attention as she stopped laughing, gained a serious look on her face, and kneeled down to my eye level.

"He threatened you? How old was he? What did he say to you?" Finally, she was actually listening.

"He was older, maybe in his forties. He knew my name somehow and told me to leave before he set his Wailord on me!" She nodded as I spoke. It seemed as though she might actually do something to help.

"Don't worry. We'll take care of this. Mt. Mortar is public land. There shouldn't be any people trying to control it." I nodded in relief. They were going to stop the guy. Everything would be alright. "Do I need to call your parents and have them come get you?" I snapped my head up.

"No! No. That's alright. I don't live that far away. I can walk." She looked at me in suspicion of my tone. I was glad when she decided to let me walk.

"Just be careful." I nodded, thanked her, and headed out of there.

Once outside, I breathed in the fresh air and tried to clear my head. The day had brought on some pretty immense things. After getting over the Mt. Mortar incident as well as the fear of facing my parents, I was able to walk home rather peacefully. The evening was warm with a nice breeze. The sunset created a melt of pink and orange in the sky. If it had been a year earlier, I would have felt content with the world.

My house loomed in the distance. I stared at it with a racing heart, knowing that behind the front door were two people ready to rip my head off my shoulders. I gulped down my nervousness and approached the front door. The knob didn't need to be turned.

The door was opened by my mother who stood with her hands on her hips. My eyes met hers and immediately looked to the ground. She wasn't happy to say the least.

"Where the hell have you been?" Her voice had lost its usual soothing tone. Instead, a bitter and furious one replaced it. "What makes you think you can just ignore your father? He gave you rules to follow! You can't just disobey him like that!"

I shoved past her and went inside. That wasn't the right move as my father was only a few feet behind. He stopped me with two hands on my shoulders. I cringed slightly as he disturbed my injury from the falling Geodude.

"I'm not happy with you," he said with a coldness that sent fear through me. "We told you not to do that. There's a reason we give you restrictions Michael." He wasn't yelling, but his voice was soul destroying nonetheless.

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered. "I just really wanted to get outside." My eyes remained fixed on the ground. My voice was small and unconvincing.

"That's no excuse. You really don't realize what you have done." That last comment intrigued me. What did he mean by that? There wasn't any way he could have known about the incident at Mt. Mortar. I never told the police my name or phone number. Had I done something incredibly wrong just by going out?

My questions were never answered as I was told to go to my room. Now wasn't the time to refute, so I obeyed.

Once I was in solitude, I pulled out my three Pokéballs. Flare and Ty were released so I could have some company. Then something about the third ball caught my attention. Rather than the center spot being silver, it had a slight tint of red. A thought suddenly popped into my head.

I tossed it to the ground, and, to my surprise, it burst open with a white light. I took a step back, bracing myself for whatever came out. It was a Geodude. And, to my dismay, it was the weak one I had ignored at the cave.

"How did you get in there?" I asked, perplexed. It just stared at me with its pitiful eyes. I sighed and kneeled down next to it. Flare and Ty eyed it suspiciously. "It's alright guys. I guess he's your teammate now." What other choice did I have? It was already in the Pokéball, and I sure as hell wasn't going back to Mt. Mortar.

Ty seemed happy with the situation as he flopped over to the small Geodude. They seemed to get along rather well. Flare was still unsure about the whole thing. I patted his head in reassurance.

"Well, you're on the team. That means you need a name!" That was something I could do to cheer myself up. It was time to think. "What could your name be?" I thought for a second. "Well, first, are you a boy?" The Geodude shook its head in response. That surprised me. "So you're a girl?" It nodded. I had always pictured Geodude as male. I now had my first girl of the team.

"So what should I call you then?" I let myself think for a little bit. "How about Stony?" That didn't receive a very positive response. That led me to think some more. Suddenly, I had it. "What about Tecta?" That was original, witty, and rock-related. It also seemed to work well with my new teammate as she seemed to smile. "Alright then! You are now Tecta!"

Ty cried with joy, Tecta hugged my leg, and Flare seemed to purr slightly. All seemed to be well, surprisingly. After the day I had experienced, happiness was the last thing I expected. But, in spite of the Mt. Mortar incident and the spat with my parents, I was happy once more. I was ready for some down time now. Unfortunately, I wasn't the one to make that decision.


	8. Chapter 8: Action and Consequence

"And that's how my team is now," I finished rather happily. The young girl now knew how I had built my team. That was all I was willing to tell her as far as details went. She didn't need to hear about the fights with my parents, Rylan, or Mt. Mortar. That was too much.

"No," she stated blatantly. "There's more! You were still ten in the story! You're not ten now! What happened in between?" Damn, this girl wasn't being fooled. I let out a sigh. The rest would be a bit difficult to censor. So much had led me to where I was, and most of it was only to be known by me. But her pouting eyes were too much for me.

"Alright, I'll keep going." She smiled cheerfully and clapped. What had I gotten myself into? Hopefully this would be all I saw of her. "Let's see. Where was I?"

* * *

Tecta was a surprising teammate. She didn't seem to be quite as weak as I had previously thought. In fact, it seemed as though all she needed was encouragement. Frequently, my parents would yell up the stairs for me to quiet down when she tested her moves.

The only problem was that with my parents' watching over me carefully, she wasn't able to get any training in. Ty and Flare didn't like the lack of activity either. I had to do something.

It was early morning when I decided to make my move. I was going out to train, but my parents weren't going to know. My team was silently returned to their Pokéballs. I grabbed my bag and my black jacket (it wasn't a warm morning) and climbed out of my window.

Nerves got to me as I looked down, standing on the roof above my front porch. The plan was rather crazy, but it was worth it. I shimmied down the gutter and let out my breath I had been holding once I touched the ground. It was time to get back into action.

I whipped out my cell phone and found Cyan's number.

"Hello?" she answered groggily. "It's five in the morning. Who is this?" She apparently hadn't bothered to check the caller I.D.

"Cyan, it's Michael," I said. My voice was quiet, as if I was still inside the house. Realizing this, I began to walk in order to decrease any risk of being caught.

"Michael?" Her voice definitely seemed to wake up. "What's up?" Yeah, she was awake now.

"Are you up for some more double battles?" On the other end, I could hear some rustling and a little commotion. "Hello?"

"I'm here. Yeah, sure! You'll have to explain the timing, though, when I see you, but I'm game!" A smile grew on my face. What a friend to have.

"Great! Just meet me outside the Poké Center." She agreed and hung up. I continued to walk in the brisk morning air. A few people were out jogging with their Pokémon, the street lights offered a low lighting, and the trees shook in the breeze.

Once I was downtown, I ran to the Center as quickly as possible. Walking in the doors got me a confused look from Nurse Joy.

"Why are you here so early?" she asked with a yawn. It seemed as though she had recently woken up. "I thought kids liked to sleep in."

"Just want some battling time," I replied cheerfully. That didn't seem to please her curiosity. "My parents are, uh, they have plans for the day." That seemed sufficient enough.

"Alright. Good luck finding somebody to battle you this early, though. The only people awake are the tougher trainers." I nodded and she walked back to the back room, yawning the whole way.

"Explain yourself." I turned around to see that familiar girl walking through the front door. "Why do you have me up so early? I mean, I'd love to battle, but why now?"

"I'll explain outside," I said, walking toward the door. She followed reluctantly. Once we were in privacy, I turned to her. "My parents don't want me training without their supervision, and they aren't about to come with me." Cyan nodded as she seemed to understand the situation.

"What's with their sudden change of heart?" Should I tell her about the phone calls? They were a fairly personal matter, but she _was _my friend.

"Uh, they've really been grumpy lately, and the whole Rylan thing only made it worse. But anyway, let's get a battle going!" My excitement seemed to confuse her. To be honest, it confused me too as I was never that chipper in public. It felt good, though.

We went back in the Center and waited for any signs of a trainer. It didn't take long before a fit teenage girl walked downstairs. She seemed tough, but it was slim picking at that hour. Lucky for us she agreed to battle with her weaker Pokémon to get some training in for them.

The three of us went out to route 43 and found a clearing fit for battle. It was time to show this girl just exactly what Cyan and I could do.

"Go, Swirl!" our opponent yelled as she tossed out a ball. It released a tough-looking Poliwhirl. I couldn't help but worry as the Pokémon showed off some of its strength. Those worries faded as Cyan reminded me of what she had up her sleeve.

"Come on out, Bellsy!" She let out her Weepinbell that seemed a little groggy. It snapped into fighting position when it spotted the foe. Unfortunately, our opponent had a counter move.

"Go, Crackle!" A second ball was thrown out. It released a Monferno that seemed ready to fight. Bellsy retreated slightly in fear. I now had a choice to make. I put my trust in Cyan and tossed my Pokéball.

"Let's go, Tecta!" Cyan gave me a quizzical look. I just shrugged and pointed at the Geodude that was testing the battleground.

"Now when did you get _that_?" she asked. I just motioned to the battle at hand, implying I would explain later. That was enough for her. Sadly, the Monferno was the fastest of the four Pokémon.

"Crackle, use a Flame Wheel on the Weepinbell!" the girl shouted. Her Pokémon leapt into the air and began to form fire around its body. The time it took to build its attack was enough for it to meet its demise.

A rock went flying through the air and struck the foe as it charged at Bellsy. It was thrown off course and to the ground. I stared in shock at the turn of events. Then Tecta let out a victorious cry and pounded the ground. We all looked at her in shock. All she did was smile in response. Cyan broke the silence.

"Bellsy, Vine Whip the Poliwhirl!" Her Pokémon broke out of its initial shock and got back to battle. It began to whack the watery foe with a powerful vine. It was left injured and hardly conscious. Our opponent didn't seem too worried, though.

"Swirl, give it an Ice Punch!" Cyan stared in horror as the blue enemy charged at Bellsy with a frozen fist. It hit critically and knocked him out in an instant. A one hit knock out.

Bellsy was returned and replaced by the familiar little Psyro. I looked at him uncertainly as he stared down the enemies. The battle was really starting to look bleak.

"Tecta, send another Rock Throw!" I called. My Geodude nodded in response and sent the Monferno to the ground once more. It was definitely weak now as it struggle to get back to its feet.

"Crackle, Iron Tail!" our opponent yelled. It nodded weakly and began to draw back its tail. I gulped in fear. How did her Pokémon know all of these powerful moves? Before I could create any possible scenarios, Tecta was lying knocked out at my feet.

She was returned and put back in my bag. I then stared curiously at my remaining two Pokémon. Flare was more powerful overall but weak to the water type. Ty was weaker but could handle the type differences. I decided to put my trust in my starter.

"Come on, Ty!" He was released in the middle of the battlefield and took a surprisingly confident battle stance. I braced myself for a wave of laughter from our opponent, but she remained silent. That caught me a bit off guard. "Ty, Tackle the Monferno!" He did so as always and landed a decent hit. That's where it went downhill.

"Crackle, Thunderpunch!" I could feel all color drain from my face. Had she just said what I thought she said? That question was answered when the Pokémon's fist began to glow yellow with electricity. What was up with her Pokémon?

"Ty, dodge!" I yelled in desperation. Luckily, he was able to flop out of the way just in time. "Tackle its feet!" Time for some strategy. He charged at the Monferno's legs and was able to knock it over. "Now Tackle it again!" He charged one more time.

"Thunderpunch!" That call finished off my starter. He landed unconscious on the ground in front of me. It was all up to my partner now.

"Psyro, Confusion!" Cyan yelled out. Her Ralts was able to successfully take out the Monferno. Unfortunately, it only took a Body Slam from the Poliwhirl to finish the battle. That definitely hadn't gone as planned. We hung our heads and pulled out some money as our opponent walked over.

"There's no need for that," she said as we held out her winnings. "It wouldn't be fair for me to take that. I knew I was probably going to win." I turned a little red as anger crept in. Who was she to say such a thing? "Let me clarify. I'm a Pokémon move tutor. I teach moves to Pokémon that they wouldn't normally learn." That explained the Iron Tail and elemental punches.

"Then why would you battle _us_?" Cyan asked suspiciously. She really wasn't happy about losing.

"I needed to see how Swirl and Crackle would respond to the moves. It was sort of like a training session." That didn't really help anything. "Look, to repay you for helping train my Pokémon, how 'bout I teach one of yours a move?" That perked us up.

"You can do that?" I asked eagerly. This could turn out to be good after all.

"Sure. Here, revive your Magikarp and Weepinbell. They both showed great strength and could really benefit from this." She handed me and Cyan a Revive. Bellsy and Ty were both well again. "I was really wowed by that Magikarp. It seems special there." I blushed while Ty flipped happily.

She then took him over to a tree and released a Ponyta. What was that about? Did tutoring involve battling? I soon saw it bounce into the air and land on a dummy Pokémon with quite the force. Ty was then instructed to follow. This went on for a few minutes before he was striking the doll with force too.

"There you go," the tutor said as she handed Ty back to me. "Your Magikarp now knows Bounce. It will really come in handy against grass Pokémon." I nodded and looked down at my starter with amazement. He knew another move!

The same process was done with Bellsy except he was taught Seed Bomb by a Breloom. He and Cyan were both overjoyed. What a turn of events this had been.

"By the way," the tutor said, "I'm Mamie. How 'bout you keep my phone number so we can stay in contact? I'd really like to hear how Ty turns out when he evolves." I agreed and entered her number in my phone. Then a familiar thought crossed my mind.

"Hey, Mamie," I said. She looked at me expectantly. "I've never figured out what Ty really evolves into. Everyone makes a big deal over it, but I don't know why." She looked at me in shock. Apparently I was supposed to know this stuff.

"Come on, really? He evolves in-" She was cut off by a man who barreled into her. They both went to the ground in a heap. Mamie seemed fine, but as for the stranger, he was rolling on the ground groaning. "Watch where you're going!" The man finally gained some composure.

"Sorry," he said hurriedly. "I'm just trying to get to town. Apparently something big is happening at the police station." That caught all of our attention. Any event at the police station was important, but this one had people running into town. Something was definitely going on, and, of course, I just had to figure out what.

* * *

A crowd was gathered around the station with news people everywhere. Whatever was going on had grabbed the attention of the town. Cyan and I shoved our way to the front of the mass only to be stopped by an officer guarding the door.

"What's going on?" I asked, hoping he could provide some answers. I was simply shoved away from the door and told not to enter. Once again, my small stature wasn't helping my cause.

"This way," Cyan beckoned. She was heading over to a spot where a news anchor was giving a report. He was surrounded by a circle of bystanders. We joined the group and leaned in to hear what he was saying. Luckily, he seemed to be just starting a new broadcast.

"If you're just joining us," he said with a clear tone, "we are standing outside of the Mahogany police station where one Officer Jenny has turned up in a very bad condition." Cyan and I shared a look of dismay. "She had various cuts and bruises along with a broken arm and collar bone. Her companion Growlithe is still missing. She hasn't spoken much of the incident. All we know is that she had been on an investigation of mysterious activity near Mt. Mortar."

My face turned white as I gulped down a wave a fear. That had no doubt been caused by me. I had told Jenny about the man in Mt. Mortar. He must be the one behind all of this. But what could possibly be done if the police were no match?

"She claims to have been attacked by some mysterious figures," the anchor continued. "No description has been given. All we can say is that this most likely happened near Mt. Mortar, so please try to steer clear of that area."

I bolted away from the scene before Cyan could say a word. She wasn't able to follow through the congested crowd. I simply kept on going.

Once I reached the beginning of route 43, I caught my breath and released Ty. I needed someone to help calm these nerves. He flopped around naïvely as I felt myself being pulled into a panic attack. First Rylan goes missing (possibly because of me), and now a police officer has been attacked (also most likely because of me). It was all too much to handle.

As if things couldn't get any more hectic, a wild Pidgeotto decided Ty was venturing too close to its nest. He was immediately being pecked and scratched. Why were these things so hell bent on beating my starter?

"Tackle it!" I yelled, not knowing what else to say at the moment. He obeyed and sent the enemy flailing backward. It recovered and tried to resume its attack. That's when I remembered a useful piece of knowledge. "Ty, use Bounce!"

He looked at me for a second before realizing what I was referring to. He then slammed his tail on the ground and shot himself high into the air. I looked up in awe at my flying fish as he aimed himself at the flabbergasted Pidgeotto.

His attack landed with a nice blow to the head. The foe wobbled a bit before shaking off the injuries. It wasn't by any means strong, though. Ty was able to leap up for another bounce attack to successful dodge the bird's onslaught. The second hit finished it off. Ty did his usual victory flip as the Pidgeotto limped off into the bushes, too tired to fight.

"Damn birds," I said, suddenly remembering why I had went there in the first place. The wave of guilt came rushing back. It didn't last long, though before Ty began acting strangely.

It started with him crying out non-stop. I looked at him in confusion and leaned down to pet him, hoping it would soothe him. However, he simply slapped my hand with his tail and began to flop up the route.

"What are you doing, Ty?" I asked, genuinely confused. He never disobeyed like this before. Despite my calls, he continued up the path as if I wasn't there. My only option was to follow.

He continued leading me until I realized something: we were getting awfully close to the lake. Panic suddenly struck as the memories of Rylan popped into my head. I didn't want to be kidnapped, or worse.

"Ty, stop!" I cried in desperation. He simply yelped back at me and flopped faster. It was actually becoming a bit difficult to keep up with him. Whatever he was doing was incredibly important to him.

After a few more minutes of walking, I stopped as the lake came into view. Ty wasn't as amazed as he kept on flopping. He soon leapt into the water and began flailing against a rock. I rushed to his aid.

Words can hardly describe what happened next.


	9. Chapter 9: The Calm Before the Storm

The young girl's eyes were wide in anticipation. I had just finished telling her about my journey to the lake. She was eager to hear what I discovered. The next events would have to be heavily edited, though.

"What did you find at the lake?" she asked, bouncing up and down. It didn't seem like she was much of a traveler.

"Well, it's not really about what I _found_," I replied. "It's more about what _happened_." This led to a quizzical look on her face. I held up a Pokéball and wiggled it in my hand. "This here is what happened." She looked as confused as ever. I simply continued with the story.

These memories are some of the most vivid.

* * *

Ty's flailing was starting to scare me. He seemed to be trying to bash his tail to hell. My cries for him to stop were no use. I could hardly hear myself of the thrashing water. What was happening to my starter? He had never been so disobedient before.

To make matters worse, rain began to fall from some storm clouds that had rolled in. It didn't strike me at that time, but the sudden precipitation was very odd. There hadn't been a cloud in sight all day, and the forecast was clear. Oh, how I wish I had realized the source of the weather change sooner.

Ty continued to flail without hesitation. In fact, the rain seemed to give him encouragement. I groaned in hopelessness and decided there wasn't much I could do. Of course, something else could do a lot more.

As I turned to find a place to mope, a sound of thrashing water caught my ears. At first, I assumed Ty was beefing up his efforts, but the sound seemed much too powerful for any Magikarp to make. I turned my head in time to see water being thrown around further into the lake. It seemed as though something was angry.

My protective side came out as I rushed back to my starter. His flailing hadn't ceased, and blood was starting to stain his decorative stone my father had tied to him. He ignored my pleas. It was time to take action. I pulled out his Pokéball and prepared to return him. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the other thrashing water stop.

A wall of water burst up in front of me. Ty was flung out into a deeper part of the lake. I fell to the ground and dropped his Pokéball. I shielded myself from the water that was falling down on me. A spine chilling roar was let out from whatever had caused this madness.

My eyes peeked out from behind my arm and stared at an enormous, blue behemoth of a Pokémon. It was long and powerful with menacing fangs. Anyone with a brain could recognize it as none other than a Gyarados.

Fear soon flooded my body and left me quivering. I was certain this would be the death of me. My starter was Arceus knows where, and my other two options would be tossed to the side like play toys by this monster. I only had one option: run.

I jumped to my feet and turned toward the route from which I came. This clearly didn't please the Gyarados as it charged onto the shore and smacked me with its tail. I went flying away from the route and hit a tree. Now not only was I defenseless, but I was also immobilized as a sharp pain took over my ribs.

It would be all over so quickly. The Gyarados would simply have to bash me across the head or tear me up with its fangs. That's all it would take…without a distraction. Before I could say my final words, another commotion erupted in the lake.

My would-be assailant turned to see what was happening. What I saw only made my heart sink even lower (if possible). A second Gyarados had emerged from the water. Now I had two things that could very easily kill me.

Luck was on my side, though, as the second beast charged at the first. The battle that ensued was worthy of legend in my eyes. The two monsters were wrapped up in battle soon enough. The second kept biting while the first simply thrashed about madly.

Soon, the battle was taken into the lake. Water was flung every which way as the combatants attacked each other. The only thing that hinted at which beast was which was their battle styles. The first relied on constant thrashing while the second seemed to be much more strategic.

Suddenly, the two split apart and stared at each other from a distance. The original beast was bloody from all the biting. The second seemed battered by the thrashing. Nothing happened for a little while. Then the second monster let out a series of roars to the first. That only led to an equal response. They seemed to be communicating.

The conversation didn't seem to go well as the roaring got louder and more menacing. The original beast then turned to me and charged. Apparently the epic battle didn't hold his attention. Just then, a shocking turn of events left me in awe.

The second Gyarados leapt out of the water. Now, when I say leapt, I don't mean a little jump. This thing was airborne as it targeted my assailant. It then landed on it with ferocious force that knocked the wind out of its opponent. What had I just seen? It almost seemed like a Bounce attack. Had that thing just tried to save me?

Another battle soon began as the two attacked each other. Unfortunately, they were on land and so was I. The beasts were brawling not twenty feet from where I lay. I couldn't move either as my ribs objected at the slightest wiggle. I would just have to keep my front row seat and hope that I wasn't flung by a stray Thrash.

The two continued to brawl, but it was apparent that the first Gyarados was losing. Bite marks could be seen all over its body, and its attacks were becoming weaker. It even struck itself multiple times. The second combatant decided it was time to finish it.

It leapt high up into the air once more and took aim at the dazed opponent. This time, the attack struck the first beast square in the head. It was knocked out on contact.

The remaining Gyarados let out a powerful roar in victory. I simply stared in awe and fear, for I knew what the end of the battle meant. There was nothing to distract the beast from me.

As if reading my thoughts, the beast turned and slithered in my direction. My body was soon trembling as I stared into its eyes. There was no way out of this situation. My death sentence had simply been prolonged.

The Gyarados cocked its head once it got close to me. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the imminent death. I heard the beast move, but it seemed to be getting distant. It was almost as if it was moving away from me. I opened my eyes and was able to confirm just that. The thing was slithering off toward the lake shore.

It stared at the surface of the water for a moment before dipping its head in. When it came up, it seemed to be holding something in its mouth. The object seemed to be small with something dangling from it.

My curiosity kept any fear out of me as the Pokémon came back to where I was laying. I was able to get a better look at the item, but it was still mysterious to me. I was only able to recognize it once the Gyarados place it at my feet. It was Ty's stone that had been tied around his tail. I looked up in fear.

"W-What did you d-d-do to him?" I asked shakily, voice quiet. The beast cocked its head once more. "What did you do to him?!" I was shouting at that point. I wanted to know where my starter was. "Did you kill him?! Why would you kill a helpless Magikarp? You're so much bigger!" Tears were running down my cheeks.

Suddenly, the Gyarados did something that caught me off guard: it nuzzled my feet. I stared in confusion at the ridiculous sight. Was this thing trying to make up for killing my starter? My lack of reaction seemed to stop the sudden sign of affection as it quickly sat up.

The beast then leapt high into the air and smashed a boulder to pieces as it landed. It repeated this multiple times until I was sure the thing was crazy.

"So you can bounce. Why should I care?" The words were venomous. I didn't need this thing to show off. Then I remembered Ty. He had known how to Bounce, but he had to be taught by Mamie. How had this thing learned the move? Unless…

The Gyarados then jumped into the lake. It swam around with its head poking out and leapt at a tree. The behavior would have been comical if I wasn't injured and thinking about Ty. Then the beast came back toward me with something writhing in its mouth. It was a Pidgeotto. I knew what I was contemplating, but it was simply impossible. Might as well check and see.

"T-Ty?" I asked rather quietly. This got a reaction from the Pokémon as it dropped the flailing Pokémon and seemed to cheer up. How could this be possible? "Is that you, Ty?" I nearly lost my breath as the Gyarados nodded in response.

This monster of a Pokémon was my starter! I could still hardly believe it. My weak, little Magikarp had turned into this giant blue beast. It didn't seem logical, but I couldn't argue with the Gyarados that was now roaring happily. There was one final test that would prove everything, though.

I saw Ty's Pokéball sitting in the grass a little ways away. Clutching my ribs, I slowly crawled over to it and grabbed it. The Gyarados looked at me curiously as I pointed the ball at it.

"Return!" It yelled, and sure enough, a red beam shot out and enveloped the beast. It was returned to the Pokéball instantly. I yelled happily as the confirmation was made. I was the owner of a Gyarados!

I released Ty immediately to celebrate with him. We both let out cries of joy as he thrashed about happily. We couldn't have been happier.

I had Ty retrieve my bag for me as it had been thrown too far out of my reach. The rib injury definitely wasn't helping matters. I pulled out my other two Pokéballs and released Flare and Tecta. They instantly cowered at the sight of their new-but-not-really-new teammate. It took quite some time to convince them that it was really Ty.

We relished the moment as Ty tested his new body and the other two got used to him. I must admit, it was a strange feeling to suddenly have a powerful Pokémon. I knew Flare and Tecta were strong, and Ty had been a great Magikarp, but this was a whole new level.

After enjoying the moment for a while longer, I returned my other two Pokémon, leaving Ty out so he could help me get back to town. With difficulty, I climbed onto his neck and clung to one of his three-pronged fins. We then set off for Mahogany with one hell of a story to tell.

Travelling wasn't too hard as Ty frightened off any wild Pokémon. I was able to rest my ribs some as we moved. It was an almost peaceful feeling. I quickly had the urge to tell somebody, and there was one person in my mind. My cell phone was flipped open in an instant.

* * *

"Where the heck did you go?!" Cyan's voice was angry. I had completely forgotten about her when I ran off. "You left me in that crowd! You better have something good to say!"

"Don't worry," I replied as soothingly as possible. I had Ty stop for a minute so I could talk. "Something important happened."

"Oh, this should be good." I let her sarcasm bounce off for the moment.

"Just come meet me on route 43." I could hear her sigh on the other end of the phone.

"And why should I do that after what you did? Just tell me what happened!" She wasn't going to be reasonable I guess.

"It involves Ty. Just get here! It'll be worth it. I promise." With an overly dramatic sigh, she agreed. I let out my own sigh of relief. So I hadn't lost my friend just yet. Hopefully my news would be good enough to avoid further conflict.

I had Ty set me down in the clearing we were resting in. Coincidentally, it was the one we had used as our first training ground. He was soon splashing around in the pond, successfully annoying any surrounding Pokémon. They weren't about to stop him, though.

Flare and Tecta were released so they could do as they pleased. Flare spent most of the time shooting Embers as wandering Pidgeotto while Tecta was busy trying to avoid Ty's splashing. I let out a laugh at her expense.

It wasn't too long before Cyan came walking in through the brush. I turned to her and offered a smile. She dusted off her shirt, looked up, and froze where she stood. Her eyes were fixated on the Pokémon playfully thrashing about in the pond.

"Cyan," I said cheerfully, "meet the new Ty!" She was completely speechless as she stared up. My smile couldn't have been bigger. "It shocked me too, but that definitely is him." She took a few more moments to take in the new information.

"When did this happen?" she asked, still flabbergasted.

"Right after I left you in Mahogany, he led me up to the lake." I began my story there and caught her up on everything. I told her of the wild Pidgeotto, the flailing Ty did, the wild Gyarados, everything. She listened with open ears. "Now I'm here with a powerful starter!"

"That's pretty cool." Her response was out of lack of words. To be honest, I couldn't really describe the events. Everything had been so incredible, it simply left me amazed. Suddenly, another event crossed my mind, though.

"Is there any other news about Officer Jenny?" I asked, quickly changing the mood. I soon regretted it as worry snuck back into my head.

"Not really. She just keeps talking about the figures that attacked her. She's really worried about her Growlithe." I hung my head low. So they hadn't found out anything else.

"Are they doing an investigation or something?" I tried to find some hope in the situation. I needed something to soothe my conscience.

"They plan on it. They're not going immediately, though. They want to get as much information as possible." That didn't help my mood, but it was at least some form of condolence. They were going to stop that man all would be good. "Don't sweat it. How 'bout we take your mind off things and try out Ty's new body?"

That perked me up a bit. It would be pretty nice to see my Gyarados in action. I quickly agreed, returned Flare and Tecta, and crawled onto Ty's neck. Pretty soon we were on the hunt for an opponent.

Our original plan was to head back to the Poké Center and find some trainers, but that soon became unnecessary as a battle seemed to find us. It came in the form of a man hurrying down the route. He stopped in front of Ty and eyed me carefully.

"Can we help you?" Cyan asked rather forcefully. She was getting eager to battle. The man took out a piece of paper and looked between it and me.

"Oh they're gonna get it now," he grumbled to himself. He then turned to us. "Try this out for size." He tossed two Pokéballs to the ground before we could react. A Houndoom and a Lickitung were released.

"You want a battle, huh?" Cyan said challengingly. "We'll give ya one!" She tossed out her Pokéball and let out Bellsy. He eyed the opponents readily and took a battle stance. Now it was my turn.

I patted Ty to have him lower his head. Cyan helped me hop off and take my position at her side. I then had my Gyarados take his position next to Bellsy who gained confidence with the behemoth next to him.

"You're gonna be sorry," the man seethed. "Doomsday, use Flamethrower on the plant! Toungle, Thunderpunch the giant freak show!" This guy wasn't playing by standard battling rules. There's no way that Lickitung should attack before Ty.

"Bellsy, block the Thunderpunch!" Cyan yelled. Her Weepinbell took position in front of Ty, awaiting the pink opponent. I was up.

"Ty, Tackle the Houndoom in the mouth!" His loyalty was back as he charged at the black enemy. Just then, a jet of fire shot at him with ferocity. It didn't slow him down as he landed a direct hit that clogged the Houndoom's mouth and sent it flying with traces of fire trapped.

At that moment, the Lickitung took the opportunity to attack. Luckily, Bellsy had kept his eye on it and countered the punch with a Vine Whip. That left the two staring each other down with menacing glares.

I was thankful for my partner at that moment. Ty wouldn't have been able to take that hit after his bout with the wild Gyarados. Luckily, he seemed to be fit enough to fight.

"Dooms, Crunch the monster! Toungle, Thunderpunch it again!" the man yelled. I finally saw something that explained the no-rules battling. He was dressed completely in navy. My mouth went dry as I recognized the outfit. This could end badly.

"Bellsy!" Cyan called for her Pokémon. "Sleep Powder the Lickitung, now!" He nodded and started to send loads of powder toward the enemy.

"Ty!" I called. "Bounce!" He instantly leapt high into the air, narrowly avoiding the Houndoom's attack. In the mean time, the Lickitung was far too slow to land a hit. This left it vulnerable to the Sleep Powder. It went out like a light.

After successfully targeting his opponent, Ty charged down forcefully and hit the Houndoom in the back. It went down and didn't get back up.

"Dammit!" the man yelled as he stomped the ground. He returned the Houndoom and decided to do the same with his Lickitung. He then pulled out a third Pokéball and studied it intently. He soon decided not to use it as he put it back on his belt. He then marched over to me and Cyan. "I'm not giving you any money!" He then stuck his finger in my face. "You're sure as hell not gonna need it soon enough anyway!"

I didn't appreciate his tone and motioned Ty over. He hovered above the man and growled threateningly.

"Give us the money," I growled. "I know who you are, and you're not leaving here without paying up."

"Son of a bitch." He pulled some bills out of his pocket and shoved it in my face. "Take your damn money. Just give it back later!" He laughed rather evilly and shoved past me down the route. What had that last comment meant?

"What was _that_?" Cyan asked rather surprised. I shrugged to show my equal lack of knowledge. "I'm not talking about the man. He was a jerk. I mean why did you threaten him? That's not like you." I simply stared back, unable to answer. I really didn't feel like telling her of the mysterious men. It was my secret to keep. But I guess I had acted rather unnaturally.

"I don't know," I replied. "I just really didn't want him getting away like that. He cheated anyway." That didn't seem to satisfy her as she continued to eye me cautiously. "Can we just go home now? It's starting to get late, and my ribs are starting to hurt."

"Fine," she said. "But you need to think a little bit. Pokémon don't need to be used as threats." I nodded in agreement as we began to walk down the path toward Mahogany.

I only wish that Cyan's comment would be the only issue to worry about. Unfortunately, there would be more. So much more.


	10. Chapter 10: The Beginning From the End

A yawn escaped the mouth of the young girl. It was at that moment when I realized just how much this encounter was affecting me. Much to my surprise, the yawn worried me. After all this time of hoping for a way out of telling my story, I was now hoping she would hold enough attention for me to continue. It actually felt good to be letting this out to someone I knew wouldn't judge me in the least.

"Getting sleepy there?" I asked, trying to sound as indifferent to that statement as possible. She quickly rubbed her eyes and shook her head vigorously.

"No! Keep going!" she chirped, appearing to throw out any drowziness she previously showed. That didn't bother me as much as it should have. After all, the story was about to get revealing. My sugar-coating skills were going to be pushed to the max.

* * *

Cyan and I parted ways just before the entrance to my neighborhood. Not many words had been spoken before the rather quiet good-byes we exchanged. It was a strange experience that left me feeling rather crappy. She technically was my best friend (outside of my Pokémon), and my uncontrolled temper was jeopardizing that.

After walking alone for a little ways, I decided to sit on the sidewalk for a bit. My ribs were bugging me, but most of all, my mind was whirling. My actions back on the route were still beyond my explanation. I don't want to be a bad person. Just seeing that obviously bad man try to wiggle his way out of his loss really angered me.

I released Ty from his Pokéball, out into the street. Being alone with my thoughts would have probably driven me crazy. He looked at me expectantly after seeing no threat or trainer awaiting battle.

"Hey, buddy," I said rather glumly. His big head was soon at my eye level. He could sense something was bugging me. "I just want to apologize for earlier." His head cocked in confusion. "Using you as a threat was wrong. I don't know what came over me. Just promise me that you will never let me use you in that way again." He let out a soft growl in confirmation and coiled his body in a wall around me.

"We probably should be getting home now." I patted his side and slowly crawled onto his back, trying my best not to agitate my ribs. He then sat up and began to slink along toward the house at the end of the street.

A deep sigh escaped me as I began to think. My parents didn't really know where I was. I was gonna get some hell for that. A shiver raced down my spine as I thought of my enraged father scolding me beyond end. The fear of having my Pokémon taken away didn't help anything. I then looked at what I was riding and realized I wouldn't let my parents take them. That thought process soon faded as I noticed I was using Ty as a threat again. I let out another sigh.

My house was getting closer and closer. With each lunge of Ty's body, I could feel the dread sinking deeper into my stomach. It couldn't be healthy to have these types of feelings toward my parents. These are the people who raised me. I shouldn't be fearing them like some monster. I took a deep breathe to try and relieve my spinning mind. I only succeeded in upsetting my ribs. Boy, I hoped they weren't broken. Just another thing to add to the list.

Just before we reached the driveway, a hint of movement caught my peripheral vision. I placed my hand on Ty's head to signal him to stop. He did so and made a sound to express his curiosity. He then caught a whiff of whatever was the cause of the movement and began to let out a low growl. It sounded like faint thunder and gave me a nice massage as I sat up near his head.

Soon, a black figure went scuttling quietly across my front yard and toward the door. Ty let out a warning roar, and I tensed up. The figure picked up its pace and was soon about to enter my home. A new fear engulfed me as the possibilities of what that figure was raced through my mind.

"Hey!" I yelled, causing the figure to stand a bit more upright. I clicked my heels against Ty and ordered him to move forward. He began to charge, which led to a sharp pain shooting through my ribs.

"Slow down a bit, Ty" I groaned. He whined impatiently, but followed the order. We were still hardly into the driveway when I saw the figure's smiling face. It was the man from route 43. What the hell was he doing at my house? My legs tightened around Ty. This caused him to speed up a bit, but it was too late. The man had picked the lock and was shutting the door behind him before I could get there.

I could see my parents' bedroom light on. All I needed to do was get their attention. My dad wouldn't possibly let an intruder get the best of him. Unfortunately, they were on the second floor. I hopped off Ty and scurried toward the front door as quickly as possible. As soon as I was within arm's reach, I twisted the knob forcefully. Locked.

"Dammit!" I screamed before I commenced wailing on the hard wood. "Mom! Dad!" Ty began to roar as well. Surely they had to hear us.

"Michael? What the hell are you doing?!" My dad was yelling out of his window. His face was twisted in rage, but I was just relieved I got to him before the man.

"There's an intruder!" I yelled frantically. "He's inside! The door's locked!"

"What are you ta–" He couldn't get the words out of his mouth before something heaved him back into his room. The window was slammed shut.

"Dad!" I felt so helpless. My parents were inside with an intruder who obviously had the upper hand. Hopefully he hadn't healed his Pokémon after my battle with him. That thought struck an idea. "Ty, come here!" My Gyarados lowered his head to my level, and I climbed on. "Can you get me up to the window?" He lifted his head as far as he could. I was able to look right into my parents' room. The sight wasn't what I wanted to see. They were tied up on the floor with the intruder setting something up near the door.

I scanned the window for a way to open it. Then I saw something that sank my heart. The man had walked out the door leaving behind him three Electrodes and a two-way radio. I had to stop him.

"Ty, get me down! Now!" He followed the order reluctantly, leaving my parents tied in a room with three very explosive Pokémon. I hopped off and looked up at him. "Now, go around back and guard the door! Don't let that man use his radio!" He nodded and headed out around the back of the house. I whipped out my other two Pokéballs and released Flare and Tecta. They both looked at me expectantly.

"Guys," I said in a stern voice, "we have to get inside, now. Flare, use Ember on the door!" My Charmander quickly hopped up and spit flames, catching the wood on fire. "Now, Tecta, Tackle it down!" She followed and busted down the burning door. "Let's go."

We rushed in, and I quickly began searching for the man. On first instinct, I ran toward the back door. Flare and Tecta followed. That was probably what ruined our assault. As soon as I reached the back, I heard something fall behind me. I turned to see the man running out of the front closet and through the front door. He smiled menacingly and waved before running off.

"FLARE, GET HIM!" I screamed in panic. He ran toward the door, spewing flames at the intruder. A couple embers licked his pants, but he was too far out of range. "NO!" I instantly turned to run upstairs, but with a crash, the back wall burst. Ty was now in my kitchen, urging me to hop on. I did so and returned my other Pokémon.

"We need to get my parents out!" I yelled. He gave a slight nod and took us back outside. He then set me on the ground, much to my dismay, and shoved me back with his tail. "I have to help them!" My voice was strained from all the yelling. Who knew how much time we had before the man decided to send his fatal command through the radio.

Ty growled at me and reached his head up to the second floor. He bashed the wall in and poked inside. Suddenly, our time ran out.

"Explosion!" A voice rang out through the neighborhood. I lost all feeling in my body as I watched Ty fling back to coil around me. A few seconds later, I was deafened by the sound of the Electrodes following their order. Tears streamed down my face as I pressed my hands against my ears. It wasn't the sound that really hurt, though.

I sat underneath Ty's protection and let the tears flow silently. The sound of crackling fire was all I could hear, and it didn't help my state any. All I could think of was my parents, trapped in that room without a fighting chance. Well, they had a chance, but that chance happened to be me, and I failed. My parents' fate was on me. Somehow I didn't want to accept exactly what their fate was yet, though.

After a solid few minutes of cowering, I tapped on Ty to have him let me out. I hadn't even thought of the possibility that he was injured. That sudden thought was confirmed by the loud groan he let out as he moved off of me. I looked for the injury and found it in the form of many patches of blackened skin. Sadly, that wasn't the worst of my problems.

As hard as it was, I wrenched my head toward the house and simply gawked at the second floor that was engulfed in flames. Half of the entire part of the building was completely gone. The other half was still burning. The only thing on my mind, though, was the fact that my parents were still in there.

"Get me up there." My voice was hoarse but forceful. Ty turned toward me and groaned in disapproval. "Do it now, Ty. I have to save them." Even I could hear the denial in my voice, but that wasn't about to stop me.

Ty slowly lowered his head and allowed me to climb on. My ribs were still aggravated, but it was almost a numb feeling now. I was lifted to what was left of the second story. My parents' room no longer had a ceiling or four walls. My room was burning. It was an awful sight to look at.

Once I reached the spot where a wall used to be, I climbed into what was left of the bedroom. The heat was intense as I looked around. I could see the three blackened remnants of the Electrodes. They're usually knocked out by their own Explosion. Multiply that by three and it's obvious that they weren't there to return home from the mission.

"Mom? Dad?" The words escaped my mouth as not much more than a hoarse whisper. Defeat coursed through me like it was my blood. I hadn't confirmed anything, but my mind was rushing to the inevitable conclusion. The heat was only getting worse as I remained there longer. My eyes quickly scanned the room for any signs of life. Then I saw them.

I'll never be able to describe what I saw. To this day, it has just been burned in my mind as my parents lying peacefully side by side with their hands folded on their stomachs. The actual image was simply too much for me to handle. To be honest, I'm thankful that it was blocked from my memory. That's not an image you want to carry with you.

After seeing them, I dropped to my knees and let the tears flow. All of my emotions just escaped in that one moment of extreme weakness. They were gone. The people I held dearest in my life; the ones who made me who I was; the ones who were always supposed to be there; the ones who introduced me to my best friend. I would have to go on the rest of my life without their comfort. At a time like this, they would be the person I needed most. But now they were the reason for the moment happening.

It was that moment that I decided to never let that kind of pain affect me ever again. From then on, I would never let anything get close enough to me that it would hurt so much to lose. I had even considered releasing my Flare and Tecta so I could just travel alongside Ty. They hadn't grown too close to me, and I was bound to lose them eventually. I guess I decided that I could keep them safe enough.

After my inner transformation took its toll, I wiped my eyes. Crying wasn't going to get me anywhere. Once those tears were gone, my eyes became cold and stoic. My emotions weren't gone, they were just far more concealed. I slowly rose to my feet and marched toward Ty who was looking at me with sorry eyes. I climbed up onto him without a sound and let him know it was time to go. Where we were going, I didn't know, but we had to get far away from where we were. It was time to start anew.

* * *

"Authorities have recovered three post-Explosion Electrodes from the rubble. There is still no lead as to how the Pokémon entered the home, but they are clearly the cause of this disaster. The bodies of a Mr. and Mrs. John and Linda Blackburn were recovered as well. Their son, Michael, has not been found among the wreckage. Foul play is being investigated as the Blackburns were not known for having Pokémon. John had been a trainer in his youth but had given that up years before. Detectives still aren't sure what caused the Pokémon to explode in the first place even if foul play is involved. A funeral service is being held for the deceased this Thursday."

The same news story covered TVs and newspapers across the region. Everyone was talking about the freak explosion that took the lives of a couple and their young son. It was a tragedy that was rapidly gaining publicity. That wasn't any good for my plans.

It was the day after the incident. I was traveling around on foot. Ty would have drawn far too much attention. All I had to my name was my Pokémon, my bag, and the clothes on my back. The black jacket was comforting. It was the last connection to my parents that I had. The grief had already passed through. Either that or I was just completely numbed over from the immensity of the situation. All I knew for sure was that I didn't want to be seen or recognized. That would certainly end with me in an orphanage or something seeing as how I had no relatives I was close to.

The days went by rather difficultly. I had to sneak around a scavenge for food. It was never much, but it kept me full and out of sight. I made many stops during my travels. The most important came on a Thursday.

The funeral wasn't much. After all, there wasn't anybody really stepping up to pay for it. It was really rather sad how detached we had been from our family. I couldn't really remember even having a conversation with anyone besides my grandma, and even that was only short, awkward small talk over the phone.

They were all there, though. I saw aunts, uncles, my grandparents, and even a few cousins. None really showed any real sadness. They just sat in their seats with solemn faces as though they were just going through the motions of a funeral. There was one face I saw, however, that dragged me right out of my emotionless shell.

Cyan was sitting quietly next to her grandmother. Her eyes were red and watery. Every ounce of my being wanted to leap out of the bush I was hiding in and tell her I was alright. The last conversation we had held involved a lot of silence and tension. It was certainly no way to leave your best friend. I just had to keep telling myself it was for the best. I didn't need to be close to anyone. Who knows what could happen. For all I know, that evil man is out to get me. I wouldn't let him tear me apart again.

I left before the crowd got out to avoid the risk of being found out. My emotionless shell had to be rebuilt on the walk to wherever. Seeing Cyan like that really shook me up. She was the next closest person to me after all. This was my opportunity to let her go before having to lose her. It was all part of becoming the person I felt forced to be.

Traveling was not exactly my cup of tea. After all I was only ten. I didn't exactly know where everything was, so most of the time I was just wandering aimlessly. Battling was something I avoided like a plague. Injured Pokémon required aid, and aid was provided at Poké Centers. The issue with that was the fact that the only Center I knew how to get to would lead to me being recognized.

I was left roaming the area around Mahogany. Ice Path wasn't anything I wanted to traverse, the Lake of Rage wasn't an option, and Route 42 just led to water and trainers. My only option was to travel in circles to avoid being found out. It wasn't the ideal life, but at least I had my Pokémon. That was all that mattered at that point.

The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, the months into years, blah blah blah, cliche. But that was how it was. I could only tell the day based off of my Dex that handily kept the date. Birthdays came and went without much of a thought. My sole purpose was to keep myself going in the endless circle. It was a rather horrible way of life.

My stoic attitude and my companions were the only things keeping me sane. As years passed, I felt sorry for keeping them so confined. They hadn't leveled up since the incident. Then the day finally came when I broke.

"I can't do this anymore." My voice made my Pokémon jump in surprise. "This isn't the life I want." I had a dream that through all the time on the road still sat at the bottom of my heart. It was at that moment when it finally made its way out back into the open. "We're taking on the world."

The next day, I made plans to travel back into town. That day just so happened to be my sixteenth birthday. Yeah, it had been that long. I guess you can understand where I was at. I had grown taller and was actually filling out my jacket. I could feel the stubble growing on my face as well. Nobody would recognize me. That is until I would have to turn my I.D. over to Nurse Joy, but hopefully she could keep my secret.

Walking into town was rather nerve racking. It had been six years. I was as good as dead, and no one should have been able to recognize me. That didn't calm me down much. Paranoia got the best of me as I ducked out of the way of gazes that weren't really locked on me. After weaving around a few people, I finally made it inside the Center. That didn't help at all.

I looked up from underneath my long bangs to meet the stares of innocent trainers. None knew me, but it was enough to make me uneasy.

"Hi, there. Welcome to the Pokémon Center." Nurse Joy's voice sent me into a panic that caused me to rush to the bathroom. She had seen me! I knew she hadn't recognized me instantly, but it could only be a matter of time.

I washed my face off in the sink and grimaced at the face that stared at me in the mirror. I looked probably about twenty years old, and a bad twenty at that. My hair was long a messy. The gray streak was much thicker and vibrant now. My face seemed worn and tired with my eyes a bit more sunken. Short, black stubble covered my chin and cheeks. I suddenly lost my worry of being recognized.

Back in the lobby, I received many bewildered stares. I simply ignored them and scurried toward the front desk. Joy had left to tend to a Pokémon in the back which left me standing awkwardly in front of a dozen confused faces picking me apart with their eyes. I rang the bell for service.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Joy came scurrying back around front. "I was tending to a rather ill patient. How can I help you?" Her cheery voice seemed a bit more forced as she looked me over.

"Listen, can you keep a secret?" My voice was hushed and stern. She caught the memo that I wasn't messing around and nodded. "This is serious. No blabbing. I mean it." She nodded a bit more understandingly, apparently at a loss for words. "I'm here to get my full Trainer's I.D."

"Well that's nothing to be secretive over!" Her voice rang through the room. I cringed and tried to hush her. "Just hand me your current I.D." I gave her a glare as I slid the card over the desk. She picked it up happily, read it, and froze. I gulped rather loudly and ducked my head, bracing for her reaction. "M-Michael?" She was dumbfounded. "But you're..."

"I know." My voice was hushed, trying to encourage her to do the same. "I wasn't in the house. I don't need the publicity, so I've been traveling around." She nodded in amazement. "No one has really been worried about me anyway. But that's beyond the point."

"If you don't want publicity, why are you entering the Gym Circuit? They'll recognize your name instantly!" This was something I had thought about for a while.

"That's why I need a new I.D." She looked at me curiously. "It won't be much of a change. I just need an updated picture and a slight name change." She didn't look to willing to participate. Before she could object, I spoke up. "Just make my name 'Black.'"

"Why that?" I had caught her interest.

"It holds true to my real name, but doesn't give away my identity." She thought it over for a while before finally speaking up.

"Ok." I let out a sigh of relief. "Let me see your I.D." I pulled it out of my bag and handed it over. The last remnants of my former self were about to be destroyed.

She entered my info into her computer and motioned me to stand in front of the camera. I did so and stared into the lens with a far more intense look than I had mustered six years prior. I heard the camera click. Joy then handed me a paper and pen.

"Just sign here, and that'll be all." I scribbled the new alias and handed the paper back. She sent it through the machine. With a ding and a flash of plastic, I had my new I.D. I didn't even bother scanning it over before throwing it into my bag.

"Thanks, Joy," I said. "This really means a lot." She smiled sweetly, picked up my old card, and reluctantly cut it up.

There went Michael Blackburn.

For good.


	11. Chapter 11: Here and Now

Tears brimmed the young girl's eyes. I had just finished telling her about by "running away" from home. It was a lot better than the truth, and it seemed to get the job done. It felt a little bad to lie, though. This girl was the first real interaction I'd had in I don't know how long.

"Why don't you go back?" she asked in a choked voice. "Don't you miss your mom and dad?" That comment would have gotten to me had I not been so hardened.

"Some things are just complicated," I replied feebly. The truth was I missed them every day. Only, it wasn't a sad type of missing someone. It mostly made me stronger and more willing to find the people responsible. That's what kept me on the road for so long.

* * *

I had began my search not long after my eleventh birthday. Of course, the obvious place to begin was Mt. Mortar. The man who killed my parents had been wearing the same outfit as the mysterious men I had seen before. It was an easy connection. Unfortunately, finding the men wasn't as easy.

As soon as I entered the cave, Pokémon blazing, something was obviously off. There wasn't nearly as much water in the lake as there had been before. It was actually quite shallow. This revealed a hidden dome that had been under the water. A door was busted down in the front of it. Naturally, I went to investigate.

"Ty, get us down there," I commanded. My voice had gained a much harsher tone than before, but my Pokémon were still loyal. Ty created a bridge for Flare, Tecta, and me to hop on before lowering us down near the water. The other two stayed on his head to avoid the feared water while I sat on his neck, pointing him in the direction of the doorway.

Once we were inside, I ordered Ty to stand guard outside as he was far to large to enter. The dome was big, but the doorway wasn't. Flare and Tecta showed their obvious relief to be away from the water as they quickly ran from the entrance further into the building. I let out a sigh and followed after the two.

The place seemed like a cross between a laboratory and an office. Some rooms contained beakers and test tubes while others simply had desks and computers. The one thing each had in common was a symbol on the wall. It consisted of many bright shades of blue, silver, and crimson. The main feature was what appeared to be a oval head with two rectangular prongs on either side. The head itself was crimson with electric blue pointed ovals as the eyes. There was no mouth or, but a shiny silver streak ran from the forehead to just above where it would have been. The two side prongs shared this colored streak traveling through the center of each. This face was in the center of what appeared to be a globe with the same color scheme.

I kept walking and signaled my Pokémon to follow. We began a journey through the maze of a building, hoping to find some clues as to what was going on. I decided to investigate one of the laboratory areas.

The room was fairly spacious with three lab tables that were all covered with experimental equipment. A closer look revealed what seemed to be samples of Pokémon in some of the tubes. One had a Girafarig tail. Another had some Pikachu fur. A third revealed metal plating from a Lairon. It was rather sickening to look at.

Next to those test tubes was a notebook with some words scrawled on it. I picked it up and read it. It seemed to explain the search for some sort of element that all Pokémon shared with each other. There was also some part talking about legendaries and even Arceus. It was all rather confusing as it appeared to be written for someone who had been briefed on the overall subject.

"What the heck is this?" I wondered out loud. Flare and Tecta turned toward me curiously. It was at that moment we were attacked.

It started with my Geodude being thrown at my head. I ducked just in time to feel a breeze in my hair and listen to her hit the wall. I cringed at the sound and looked for the assailant. It was a man in a large black overcoat standing in the doorway with a Golbat by his side.

"It's about time I found you," he said rather darkly. His voice made me shiver. "They told me you escaped their assassination. Quite the shame. Although, it does make things much more fun for me." He smiled evilly and sent another chill down my spine.

"Who the hell are you?" I spat angrily. Tecta groaned behind me, and Flare had taken a defensive stance in front of me.

"Such language from a young mouth." He chuckled smugly. "You can just call me your Grim Reaper." That statement made me uneasy. Was he there to kill me?

"What do you want with me?" I asked, making sure to keep a dose of venom in my tone. It only seemed to amuse him all the more.

"I was hired. They have bigger fish to fry, and you could possibly become a hiccup in their plans. It's my job to make sure that hiccup never happens." This was becoming more confusing by the second. Who were 'they,' and why did they care about me?

"Who are you talking about?" Might as well try to get some answers. It could lead me to my parents' killers, assuming I made it out alive.

"How naïve." His tone of voice was really getting on my nerves. "You're simply wanted by the greatest new-world organization the old world has yet to see." My face must have cued him to continue. "They call themselves the Deoxirubics. They have a way of thinking that opposes common law, and they plan on revealing it to the world. However, you weren't raised with their views, so you will grow to oppose them. This is why you must be terminated."

What was going on? What was this way of thinking that the Deoxirubics had, and why was it worth killing over? Everything seemed to be clogging my head. It got to the point that I didn't even notice the Golbat charging at my head. Luckily, Flare had and knocked it out of the air with a powerful Ember.

"That's a nice Charmander you got there." Now the man's voice was really aggravating. "I might just take it for myself. Shinies are worth a pretty penny." The thought of someone selling any one of my Pokémon struck a nerve.

"Flare, hit 'em full power," I growled. This seemed to be the command he had been waiting for as he began to glow until his golden skin was shimmering. This charged up what turned into the biggest Ember I'd seen him shoot. It flew over the Golbat and struck its trainer square in the face. With a painful cry, he fell back through the door.

That was my best chance for escape, so I took it. In an instant, I was dashing toward my incapacitated Geodude. She was still rather shaken from the impact with the wall. I whipped out her Pokéball and returned her. Flare was another story.

I turned to see where my Charmander was at only to find him in the middle of a battle with the Golbat. Flames were spewing left and right, but few hit the winged assailant. This left it able to land a few wing attacks. Flare was weakening quickly.

"Smokescreen!" I snarled in frustration. This whole situation had blown out of proportion. In hindsight, I probably should have expected no less seeing as how I was inside the supposed headquarters of a mysterious organization. Things swung back in my favor, though, once Flare started billowing smoke at his foe.

While the Golbat flailed around in confusion, I rushed toward the door, ushering Flare along as I tripped over him. That led me to the main problem (which, amongst the commotion, I had briefly forgot about). Before I was out of the room, a fist wailed me straight in the jaw. I flew backward in horrible pain, looking up into the horribly burnt face of the assassin man.

"Now it's personal, you little shit." He physically spat on me as those words came out and pulled a knife out of his coat. "Let me know how a Skarmory feather feels on the inside." I closed my eyes in anticipation for the end, but it seemed to be interrupted by a relentless little Charmander.

After realizing I wasn't going to die, yet, I looked to see the man wrestling with Flare on the floor. The only reason my defender could put up a fight was the occasional flame that was shot in the man's face. Of course, that didn't make him any happier. Soon Flare was tossed away, allowing the man to recuperate.

"Go, Tecta!" I released my Geodude in hopes of keeping the assassin off his feet. She was still a little shaken, but her strength hadn't faltered as she sent a nasty Rock Throw that hit directly. The man was downed once more. Unfortunately, the time spent with that battle allowed the Golbat to escape the Smokescreen attack.

Tecta was hit from behind by a Wing Attack that only succeeded in shoving her a few feet. She was soon in an offensive stance, chucking stones at the winged Pokémon. Each one that hit knocked it around well.

My view of the battle was interrupted by a strong hand that grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. I was now looking into the distorted, burnt face of the assassin. He was obviously enraged and held the Skarmory feather knife over his head, ready to strike. Now it was my turn to do something.

With all my strength, I buried my foot in his stomach. It struck hard and knocked the wind out of him. That gave me the chance to charge. I landed on his chest and began to punch his face repeatedly. Each hit induced serious pain as I struck the burns and other wounds.

After successfully tiring myself, I looked to see that Tecta had teamed with Flare to knock out the Golbat. I quickly signaled them to follow me and rushed out of the room, leaving the fainted Pokémon and wounded man behind.

"This isn't the end." It was the man's evil voice. "As long as I'm breathing, you will be my number one target!" I turned and continued my sprint toward the dome's entrance. I know it probably wasn't best to just leave the man who wanted to kill me alone to recover, but I just had to get out of there.

Over the years, I would pay the price for leaving the assassin behind. It wasn't as much the encounters I had with him, which were very few, but the paranoia. Sleeping was the worst part. For the first few weeks, I had my Pokémon take guard shifts, and I slept with Ty coiled around me protectively. I wasn't about to take any risks.

After I got over the paranoia, as I continued traveling, I went back to hunting the Deoxirubics. It was a very hopeless effort as after traveling the area for months, I wasn't able to find any signs of the organization. It was all becoming so frustrating, but I wasn't about to let my parents' killers get away with what they did. So I continued my hunt.

Months soon turned into years, and I was only finding trace clues of the group. Most of which consisted of spotting their symbol in some strange spot. They never led me anywhere as they were just painted onto a random wall here and there. It seemed more like graffiti than the sign of a possible criminal organization.

Soon enough, I lost hope of ever finding anything worth my time. I fell into a deep funk that involved sitting around and doing nothing. It killed me inside to become that person, but what was I supposed to do? My childhood was wrenched from me without reason, and I was now lost as what I should do. That was what eventually led me to the Mahogany Poké Center to receive my full trainer's license.

After taking the I.D. From Joy, I had the issue of getting to New Bark Town. She had advised me to speak with Professor Elm before beginning my journey. He was the famed Johto professor who had helped many young trainers become great. He wasn't exactly among the ranks of people like Oak or Rowan, but many of the trainers he guided continued to make a career out of Pokémon.

I decided to begin my trek south as soon as possible. In an effort to avoid trainers, I made a very stupid decision, but, hey, what else is new? I decided to avoid the routes that were riddled with battle hungry trainers and travel straight down from Mahogany into Violet City. From there, I would hopefully be able to avoid trainers on the routes from there to New Bark.

First thing was first, I had to start traveling. I exited the Center as the sun was just getting up high into the sky, so there was plenty of daylight left. I began to walk to the south end of the town when I saw something that sent me diving into a nearby bush. I hadn't even realized that I was walking past the restaurant. Even if I had been attentive enough, I wouldn't have guessed that after all this time, she would be working there. She was sweeping off the sidewalk in front of the building. If her brown hair and slender body didn't give it away, her stunning green-blue eyes did. It was Cyan.

For the past five years, I assumed that my emotions had been shelled up to avoid pain or suffering. Seeing her told me otherwise as I felt my insides melt. Even after all the time that had passed, I still held her close to me. She had been my first real friend that I didn't keep inside a Pokéball. But what was she doing sweeping the sidewalk in front of her grandmother's restaurant? Shouldn't she be out becoming a great trainer? After all, she had proven herself to be tough in the time that I knew her. I almost wanted to go ask, but that would be twice as stupid as the plan I was following at the time. At least, that's how I saw it.

I just decided to keep my place and watch her until she left. While I watched, I saw that she didn't seem to be happy. Every now and then, she would stop her sweeping and look up to the trees around the building. Her eyes had lost some of their intensity from the days when we had battled together. Her face also showed signs of, to put it simply, sadness. She didn't seem to be happy with where she was.

After she swept for a little while, a small white figure rushed out of the door and bumped into her leg. It was Psyro, her Ralts. A wave of relief flowed through me as I saw her Pokémon. Even though she seemed to have given up her battling days, she had kept her companions around.

She let out a half-hearted giggle, rubbed him on the head, and went back inside with the small psychic Pokémon right on her heels. It was rather disappointing to see Psyro as a Ralts. She hadn't even continued training long enough to have him evolve (I knew more of evolutions from boring days of reading my PokéDex). I then gulped at the thought that I had caused her to stop training. After all, I had been her battling partner. I quickly shook my head and continued my walk toward southern Mahogany.

Once I reached my destination, I realized why trainers always took the routes. The southern border of the town was the beginnings of a small mountain. I released Ty and had him give me a better view. It wasn't very invigorating as I simply saw more small mountains for what seemed like miles.

"Well," I said to Ty, "might as well start traveling." My Gyarados didn't seem to mind this in the least. In fact, he seemed to be happy to begin this adventure. I released Flare and Tecta to share the good news with them. Tecta was overjoyed, but Flare seemed to want to stay in the Pokéball. I wasn't about to argue and returned him. We then began what would be a long, rigorous walk.

* * *

At nightfall, I was really starting to regret my decision. We had found a nice little valley to rest in, but mountains still surrounded us. Tecta, being as small as she was, had been worn out from the trek. Ty still seemed to be going strong, but I didn't want to press my luck with my starter. When I let Flare out, he seemed to be happy with our sleep area.

The only issue that seemed to dwarf the length and difficulty of the walk was the hunger. Ty had been happy with a Spearow here and there while Tecta ate some soil and small rocks. Flare had been cooped up in his Pokéball, so he would need to eat, and I was barely getting by with some small berries here and there that numbed my mouth.

I let out a sigh. This journey was a lot more than I had been expecting. Flare was soon scouring the area for something to eat while Tecta dug a nice little hole and fell asleep. Ty kept near me, looking for any signs of trouble. I pulled a handful of berries out of my pocket and began to nibble at them. They tasted rather awful and left me rather unsatisfied, but it was better than dying of starvation.

Flare eventually came back with the remains of what seemed to be a Caterpie. So everyone was happy, for the most part. That in itself was enough to celebrate. I just let out a sigh of relief, finished off the hand full of berries in one bite, and leaned back against a rock and drifted off to sleep. I would be shaken awake early the next morning by the last thing I expected to find deep in the mountains: a curious little girl.

"So that's where I'm at now," I stated, finishing off my little story. "Now will you tell me how you got here?" That had been the deal I was forced into. She'd tell me where she came from as soon as I did the same. Of course, my end of the bargain turned into a much bigger payment, but she was young. It didn't bother me too much.

"Follow me!" she chirped, running off toward the foot of one of the mountains. With a groan, I brought myself to my feet and followed, all three of my Pokémon at my heels. The little girl was skipping toward some rocks that seemed to have fallen at the base of the mountain. She stopped at the pile, giving me enough time to catch up. She then let out a three-note whistle that was cheery sounding.

I saw her count to three on her fingers before letting out a two-note whistle. She then waited, facing the rocks happily. I looked down on her, confused by what was going on. After a few seconds, one of the rocks rolled off to the side. It turned out that the pile of rocks was actually an arch built out of rocks. The one in the front completed the disguise.

"Come on!" I was snapped out of my trance as the little girl grabbed my arm and tugged me toward the opening where a middle-aged man stood. I reluctantly followed. What were all these people doing out here? I took this journey to avoid them.

Once I reached the opening, I realized just how big the man was. He had a sizable stomach on him and stood about six inches over me. I had grown quite a bit since I began my time on the road, but I couldn't have been more than five foot ten. This man was huge. His furry beard only added to the intimidation.

"Well, what do you have here, Mara?" the man said in a deep voice. The little girl giggled happily and pointed at me.

"This is my new friend!" The man looked me over and smiled heartily before extending his hand for a very firm handshake.

"What's your name, stranger?" I quickly recovered my serious face to avoid looking too surprised or confused.

"I'm just called Black," I replied in a confident voice. I had really gained control over myself over the years. I was no longer some little kid who was just learning about the world. The man gave me a confused look.

"Now that's a mighty strange thing to be called. What are ya doin' all the way out here?" I kept strong eye contact with him. Better to be respected than pitied.

"I'm traveling to Violet City and didn't want to be bombarded by trainers." He nodded understandingly. Hopefully he could help me out in some way.

"You sure are a crazy feller." He then caught a glance of Ty. "But I guess you're pretty well off. Why don't you come on in and sit for a spell?" He motioned toward the interior of the opening which led into the mountain. I nodded with a thankful smile, returned my Pokémon, and allowed Mara to lead me inside.

What I saw was, quite simply, amazing. The opening led to a short hall burrowed into the rock. That led to a huge dome-shaped opening that had to be twenty feet tall. It was broken into two floors as a balcony ran around the wall about ten feet high. There were doors all around as well. There had to be ten separate rooms. And this was all inside a mountain!

"It's something ain't it?" I exited my trance and turned to face the massive man coming up behind me. "Yeah, we burrowed this place out with a team of Sandslash. Only took a few weeks for the burrowing. The rooms, though, weren't finished for about a year or so. But now, we have our own little private dwelling far away from the hustle and bustle of the cities."

I continued to stare in awe at the place. I hadn't seen anything like it before. On the ceiling, there was a chandelier that seemed to be made mostly of Stantler antlers. There were even light bulbs, and they were glowing!

"We've got solar panels built into the rock." My stare must have given away my thoughts. "They're camouflaged well to keep our home secret, but they still work well. The electricity runs perfectly, and it's all clean. Come into the family room and sit down a while." He motioned for me to follow and led me toward a door near the left side of the dome.

We walked inside, and the amazement continued. The room had walls. The room that was built into the side of a mountain had walls. There was also a dark-red carpet that covered the entire floor. A black leather couch sat in the center of the room with two matching recliners on either side of it. All sat in front of a rather large TV. The room was, quite literally, the den of the house.

A cheery looking woman with the same brown hair as Mara sat in one of the recliners. She was shorter and well-built. Upon seeing me walk in, she jumped up and walked over to offer a handshake.

"Why hello!" she said in a loud, happy voice. "What a surprise to have company all the way out here!" She laughed rather obnoxiously at her remark. I just stood there feeling incredibly awkward. I'm Janice. You seem to already know Mara and Harry." So that was his name. "Have a seat!" She walked me over to the couch where I hesitantly sat down. Mara jumped up next to me, and her parents took each recliner.

"Why don't you tell us a little about yourself, Black," the man suggested. I gulped rather loudly and sank into my seat a bit. Afraid of losing my serious image, I sat back up and cleared my throat, much to the amusement of my new "friends."

"Well." I thought long and hard about how I wanted to say this. "I'm from Mahogany." They nodded and scooted forward in their seats. "I just got my full trainer's license yesterday. Now I'm heading for New Bark Town to see Professor Elm." They gave me confused looks.

"Then what the hell are ya doin' all the way out here?" Janice barked. It made me jump a bit. Man, here voice was loud.

"I don't really want to face a bunch of trainers," I replied rather feebly. They both sat back in their chairs, seeming to understand where I was coming from.

"Why didn't you just have your parents take you?" Harry asked rather suspiciously. It made me feel rather uneasy. Luckily, Mara came to my aid.

"He ran away from home!" she said, making her voice sound rather devastated. This caused Harry to shoot me a curious look. I didn't like it at all.

"What possibly made you decide to do that?" he asked. I felt like a criminal being interrogated. I needed to change the subject somehow.

"No offense, but that's something I like to keep to myself." That seemed to have him back off a bit. But that didn't stop the questions.

"Well, how long have you been on the road?" That one came from Janice. I still had to control my jumpiness.

"It's been a bit more than five years now." I'd always thought about it, but actually saying it aloud amazed me. It had been such a long time. My amazement was stifled by a quizzical look Harry was giving me. What he did next only made things worse.

"Mara, go play in your room for a little bit, and let mommy and daddy talk to this boy." The little girl put on her best puppy-Growlithe face, and I choked down a gulp. "Now." Harry's voice gained a harsh tone to it that sent Mara sulking out of the room. As soon as he saw the door close, he turned to me. His beaming demeanor was gone. "Over five years you say? You wouldn't happen to have lived in Mahogany at the time of the Blackburn incident?" I could feel the color drain from my face.

"N-no." I stammered. "I was on t-the road by then." My lie obviously didn't hold up well. Harry then stood up and slowly strolled behind the TV to admire a painting. It was a sunset on what looked to be Mt. Silver. The color scheme looked familiar.

"Are you sure there, Black?" he asked, putting emphasis on my alias. Now there was no trace of the happy-go-lucky man who had invited me into his strange home. "Something like that could cause a kid to run off. Don't you agree, Black? Do you think the _Black_burn incident could make a kid run away, _Black_?" Something was horribly wrong.

Then Harry "accidentally" knocked the painting off the wall with an innocent "Whoops." It revealed a symbol that was oh so familiar. It was the symbol of the Deoxirubics.

I was off the couch, Pokéballs in hand, before anyone could move. Unfortunately, Janice had creeped around behind me during all the talking before I could notice. I didn't know this at the time, though.

I felt something hit me hard over the back of the head. I fell to the ground instantly. Harry's wide, menacing grin was the last thing I saw before everything faded to black.


	12. Chapter 12: The Task at Hand

When I recovered from my blackout, the first thought that crossed my mind was bewilderment at the fact that I seemed to be alive. For some strange reason, these people, who worked for the organization that wanted me dead, kept me alive. However, I was tied to a chair with some very strong chains. After giving them a tug, I accepted that I was there to stay.

I was sitting in the middle of a large room that had very few features. The walls were entirely made of metal along with the ceiling. There was one way in and one way out: a large steel door directly in front of me. There were also a few boxes stacked in a corner. One lone light bulb directly above my head supplied the lighting for the room.

The biggest thing that bothered me, though, was my right pocket. Sitting down, anything in that pocket would have been pressed to my leg. There wasn't anything, though. That pocket was the one I kept my Pokéballs in. They were gone.

"What do you want with me?" I snarled. I hadn't yelled, cried, or anything. I simply spoke my question as if my captors were sitting in front of me. Lucky for me, they turned out to be within earshot.

"Well, we wouldn't want to to miss your death." It was Harry. He walked out from the shadow cast by the boxes. I was hardly surprised that he was there. After all, his organization did want to kill me. "What fun would killing you be if you missed it? After all, your parents did have a nice view." The scowl on my face didn't falter, though my chest did tense up in rage.

"Why am I so special? What did you want with my family?" My voice was still evil and calm. I couldn't let myself look desperate. Hopefully I could get some answers.

"Your parents broke the rules, kid." What the hell did that mean? "They had to pay the price. You _were _supposed to pay it as well, but we sent a lazy-ass rookie to do the job. He let you get away. Now I'm cleaning up his mess."

"I haven't done anything!" I let my temper escape a bit on that one. Probably not the best idea as Harry began to smirk.

"It's not what you haven't done, it's what you _could _do." This wasn't getting me anywhere. Since when do you kill someone over something they might do? Whoever was writing these rules was jacked up in the brain.

"What makes you think I'd do anything?" It was an honest question. After all, there was no sure way of telling what I would and wouldn't do.

"Seriously? You think we expect you to just turn away from the people who killed your parents?" He had me there. "And when our little hit man found you in one of our old bases, it was blatantly obvious that you wanted to confront us. Well, here we are." His tone was really pissing me off.

"What did you do with my Pokémon?" This question was one I added some extra hate into. It was one thing to mess with me, but my companions were another story.

"Don't worry. Mara will take good care of them." I tensed up at the thought. "They'll be raised with the ideals of the Deoxirubics. It will be good for them." I could feel my face begin to twist with rage.

"They'll never listen to you or your daughter!" I felt some spit fly from my mouth. That was beyond my concern at that point.

"Oh, I assure you they will." His voice had become much more sarcastic. "If they refuse to listen, I'll simply put them through our special little chamber. It'll straighten them up in no time." I began to wobble my chair in a hopeless attempt to escape. This man had to go down. Then the door opened.

"You ready yet, boy?" I recognized that loud, obnoxious voice as Janice's. I looked up to see a terrifying sight. She had brought an arsenal of gruesome-looking weapons with her. One was triple pronged with curved points. Another was simply a circle with sharp blades on the interior. The worst, though, looked like an enlarged and sharpened potato skin peeler.

"Oh, he's ready," Harry said with a chuckle. I really wanted to sock him a good one square in the face.

"Why torture me?" I blurted out in hopes of stalling. It was reasonable to ask. After all, they had no beef with me. They just wanted me dead before I had the chance to do anything to their organization.

"Let's just say we like to have fun around here," Janice replied with a grin. These were some sick people. She began to walk toward me with her utensils, smiling the whole way. "Don't worry now, dear. This will only make death feel so much better." She pulled out the potato peeler thingy. Just my luck.

Just as she neared the chair, though, my luck turned around as the big steel door swung open. Mara was standing in the opening with a broken Poké doll. She looked up at her parents and froze.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked nervously. I guess her parents had hidden their cruel secret from her. Janice panicked and threw the torture tools across the room.

"What are you doing in here?" Harry boomed. "This is the grown-up room! We told you to stay out!" Mara backed away, scared.

"I just thought Mr. Trainer would want his Pokémon." Harry's eyes widened as his daughter pulled three Pokéballs from the inside of her dolls. They were even enlarged. "Just let him have them. I'll leave." She then caught sight of me and smiled happily. "I'll give them to him!" She hopped up and began to skip toward me before being stopped by the firm grip of her father.

"No, Mara," he barked. "You're not allowed in here. Now get back upstairs!" So we were in the basement. Not that the info helped much. I then saw Mara shoot a look at me that seemed desperate.

"Here, Mr. Trainer!" she yelled. My eyes glowed with excitement as she threw the three capsules in my direction.

"No!" her parents yelled in unison, reaching for the balls. It was much to late, though, as they fell to the floor. All three burst open with a bright light. I couldn't have been more relieved. Flare, Tecta, and Ty all came out ready to fight. Ty was just a bit too big as he filled up a lot of the room. His body knocked Janice to the wall and my chair to the floor. I was now laying sideways without a way to get up. That didn't matter, though. I had a fighting chance. Literally.

"Ty!" I yelled from my spot on the ground. He turned his head with difficultly to look at me. "Lean against the walls!" It still amazes me how well he understands my thoughts. He quickly pressed his entire body against the four walls. It pinned Harry and Janice and pushed Mara out of the doorway. "Now, Tecta, Flare, get these chains off of me." I had regained my composure. The situation was finally in my advantage.

My smaller Pokémon came rushing to my aid. Their procedure wasn't the best for me as Flare softened the metal with his Ember while Tecta pulled it apart, but I was just happy to be back on my feet. Now it was time to decide what I should do with the people.

It was obvious that I needed to escape the hell hole of a house, but Harry and Janice could be useful to get info from. I decided to scour them for anything they could tell me.

I walked over to the pinned Harry and looked him straight in the eyes. After a few good seconds of staring, I sent a punch straight into his nose that left it dripping blood. It felt satisfying.

"Tell me about the Deoxirubics," I said flatly. No emotion was put into the statement. I simply wanted answers.

"Eat shit," he replied before spitting in my face. With that, I walked right on over to Janice. Maybe she would be a little more cooperative.

"Same thing applies to you." She matched my intense glare and didn't speak a word. "Did I stutter, or is Ty not pinning you hard enough?" That statement cued my Gyarados to increase the power. That got a grunt out of her.

"You can kill me before I speak," she finally said. That wasn't a response I could work with. As angry as I was with those people, I wasn't about to become a killer. It wouldn't be something I could just shake off down the road. But there was one chance.

"That wouldn't be very fair to, Mara," I replied smoothly. Her face still didn't falter.

"Yeah, but you ain't gonna kill me." This negotiation was quickly going south. I had one more shot.

"You got me. Let me put this simply, then. I get my questions answered, I leave you three the way I found you. I don't get my questions answered, I leave with Mara." That was a good deal. That little girl didn't need to live in that horrible house. "Now, I'll say it again. Tell me about the damned Deoxirubics." I could see the cogs spinning in her mind. I had her right where I wanted her.

"We can't talk!" It was Harry, yelling across the room. I walked over to him and offered a glare. "If they find out we blabbed to a scum like you, we'd be dead." I could tell he was trying to play the pity card. I had my answer, though.

"Very well," I remarked. "I'll be on my way then." I picked up Tecta and locked eyes with her. She nodded in agreement with what I was going to do. I then wailed Harry over the head with her and knocked him out cold. Janice met the same fate. "Time to go guys." I returned Tecta and Ty and had Flare lead the way out.

Mara was curled up on the floor in the hallway. Tears stained her cheeks as she clutched her Poké doll. I knelt beside her and rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. She couldn't stay there, but I really didn't need her traveling with me. It would slow me down and, worst of all, give me someone to grow close to. So I decided to warn her.

"Listen," I began, "your parents, aren't good people." She sat up and rubbed her watery eyes. "They do bad things that you shouldn't be a part of. Don't let them influence you." I wanted to badly to get her out of that house, but there wasn't anything I could do. "Don't become one of them. Now, don't tell them that I told you this, but please don't follow their ways." She just stared at me with those sad eyes. I rubbed her head and went to find a way out.

The hallway wasn't very long. The only feature it boasted was the room I had just escaped from. No doors lined the short span of steel walls. After a short walk, I found myself at the end looking at a metal ladder that led up to a closed hatch. How they ever managed to get my unconscious body down there, I don't really want to know. Come to think of it, my back was aching a bit. That didn't matter, though.

Flare jumped onto the ladder and began to climb. Once he reached the top, he was faced with the issue of opening the hatch. It seemed to have a metal lever on it that he was unable to pull. I called him back down and climbed up myself.

The ladder was a good ten feet high, and the look down didn't help. I just gripped the lever and pulled hard. It wouldn't budge. It was then that I saw the keypad on the wall. This place was meant to really keep people in. But who did they keep down here?

I slid back down the ladder and thought for a second. Then a not-so-smart-but-not-so-dumb idea presented itself. I returned Flare to his Pokéball and pulled out a different one. I pressed my body to the floor and tossed it. Ty's massive girth soon filled the hall. There might have been six inches if space between my nose and his belly.

"Ty!" I yelled. His body moved in an attempt to find me. "Don't look for me now! Just bust open the hatch at the top of the ladder!" For a second, he didn't move, and I was worried he hadn't understood me. But he then slithered his way in the direction of the ladder. I slid toward his tail where I could find standing room as he slid up into the ladder chute. Unfortunately, he discovered that he was too wide to fit in the chute.

I was directly under his tail when he stopped. The door to the one room was right in front of me. Mara must have gone inside for the door was closed, and she was nowhere to be found. Then I saw Ty's tail wiggle. He pressed his belly to the ground and jerked forward. I heard him bang into the chute. It really sounded painful. He then did it again, and again, and again. I was sure he would knock himself out, but my wondrous starter surprised me for the umpteenth time.

His tail began to move down the hall until I was able to stand behind it. When I looked at where his head should have been, I saw that he had pushed the ceiling around the chute up to the hatch. I then saw a new problem. His head was too big to hit the hatch itself. All that work was going to be ruined by a big head. Not on my watch.

I whipped out his Pokéball and returned him, much to his disapproval. I then ran to the now deformed ladder and rushed about halfway up. Then I released Ty once more, only now he was facing the other way. His head was down by the room, and his tail was near the ladder.

"Use your tail, Ty!" I yelled down the hall. He roared in frustration with the cramped space, but still followed the order. I pressed my back to the wall as his tail (which was almost as big as me) shot up the newly widened chute. It struck the hatch with loud thud. Then I heard the tell-tale clang of the door striking the ground. We were free.

I quickly returned Ty and headed up the rest of the ladder. The hole was in the middle of the dome-shaped entry way. It had been covered up by a throw rug that was off to the side. This whole ordeal had really turned into one big mess. I just had to get out and try my best to forget about it all.

The sunlight blinded me as I walked out of the burrow. Had the lighting really been that dim in there? It didn't matter. All that did was getting back on the path to Elm's place. I whipped out my PokéDex to check the GPS. That was a feature that had recently been added before I got mine. It showed that I was only a few miles away from Violet City. The sun was already heading down, though. I had spent a lot of time in that burrow. There was probably only a few hours of daylight left. If I was going to make it to the city by nightfall, I had to get moving.

With one more GPS check, I grabbed my bag from the rock I had slept on and headed back into the mountains. Next stop: Violet City.

* * *

The walking had been rigorous, and my Pokémon had protested for the longest time, but, with the sun setting behind me, I saw the lights of the city. It was one of the most relieving sights I had seen in a long time. Our reckless journey was finally going to pay off.

Ty groaned rather loudly as we began the final stretch of our walk. Flare and Tecta had curled up on his back for a nice resting place. I decided to walk in order to keep him from feeling left out. He was my starter, and I wasn't about to make him feel like a slave.

"Don't worry, Ty," I said in a calm voice. "We're so close, I think I can smell grilled kelp from here. How does that sound to you?" He let out a soft, happy roar at the offer of his favorite food. Yes, it's strange that a huge sharp-toothed beast loved sea weeds, but I wasn't going to complain. Killing Pokémon for food was something I hadn't gotten used to myself. It was a different story if someone else did it and prepared it as food. The though of a nice burger made my stomach growl.

Ty and I felt each others' urgency and picked up our pace. A nice soft place to sit and some food kept me going faster despite the burning in my tired legs. The city lights kept getting closer and closer, though. We were almost there.

Flare yawned, stretched, and sat up on Ty's back. Now we had a third member that would certainly be hungry and ready to get into the city. However, he seemed to have his own plan as he sniffed the air and hopped onto the ground. Ty and I stopped to see where he was going.

At that point, we had finally gotten out of the mountains and were walking in a lightly wooded area. Flare had run off into a bush before we could stop him. I let out a sigh (wow I was doing that a lot) and followed him. Before I could even reach the spot where he had disappeared, he came bounding happily back out with an unconscious Caterpie in his mouth. I rolled my eyes and looked the other way as he dug in to his little snack. We had to do something about that. Maybe I could win enough battles to save up for some Pokémon food.

Next, Tecta went through her wake-up routine and rolled off Ty's back. Her eating habits were much easier to handle than Flare's. She simply dug a hole a pulled out a handful of dirt and worms. She then shoved it in her mouth and chewed happily. Ok, maybe they weren't as easy to handle. That was just plain disgusting. I just ignored it and ushered the two hungry Pokémon back onto Ty who had been waiting rather impatiently.

"Ok, guys," I said. "No more stopping until we get into the city!" All three nodded in agreement. It was time to get back to business.

It was only about twenty minutes before we entered Violet's suburbs. The first step onto the pavement of the road felt good on my feet after walking in the mountains for so long. My Pokémon seemed to be happy, too as Ty let out a happy roar that I had to stifle before it drew unwanted attention. Flare and Tecta then hopped to the ground and danced around with each other in the middle of the street. It was the happiest I had seen any of them in years, and it brought a warm feeling to my gut. It was something that I had not felt in such a long time. It felt good.

As much as I wanted to relish in the moment, my stomach was still protest rather loudly, so I calmed the celebrating Pokémon down, and we began our walk to the downtown area. It was quite a drag to finally be at our destination but still having to walk, so I decided to flag down a taxi that was driving by. I gave Ty a nice rest in his Pokéball and had Tecta and Flare hop into the cab.

"Where to, kid?" the driver asked. He seemed to be getting over the amazement of me having a Gyarados.

"You know any good food places downtown where I can fit my starter?" I asked. The driver seemed to understand just exactly what my starter was.

"That thing was your starter? Sheesh. Anyway, there is this nice place called Sproutso's that's pretty much an indoor garden that I'm sure will hold your beast." That sounded good to me, so I had him drive us there.

Just sitting in the taxi felt so great. The seats were nice and soft, and Flare and Tecta were enjoying the sights that flew by. The city wasn't the biggest or most advanced, but the sights were still nice. As we entered downtown, the Sprout Tower was lit up by two bright spotlights. It was the tallest building I had seen in my lifetime.

As we drove down main street, I realized just how commercialized the city had become. What used to be an old-fashioned city that people told myths about, had become a tourist attraction. And that had all happened within the time that I had been on the road.

The buildings that lined the streets were packed together, each still with the traditional violet-colored roof tiles. However, there were a lot of lights up. Stores advertised what they had to offer in brightly lit signs. It was all very fascinating and incredible to look at in the darkness of the night. Flare and Tecta both stared out the windows in pure amazement at the city lights. It was unlike anything they had seen before. Soon enough, our trance was broken by the feeling of the cab slowing down and pulling into a parallel parking spot.

"Here we are," the driver announced in a less than enthusiastic voice. "That'll be $8.90." I had completely forgotten about the cost. A quick check in my bag revealed only $22. Hopefully the food would be cheap.

I paid the man his money and helped my Pokémon out of the cab. The both stopped and looked up at the building before us. I hadn't even noticed it at first. Now, I couldn't stop looking. It stood the same height as the three-story buildings next to it, but did not have three floors itself. Instead, as we walked in, we saw an indoor paradise.

If the city had us in awe, the restaurant had us in pure amazement. Lush trees reached all the way up to the ceiling with bright green bushes surrounding their bases. A beautiful sidewalk wound through the greenest grass I had seen. There were even small hills here and there. Picnic tables dotted the grass all around. The building was also very deep as I could see the back wall that was a good fifty yards away. The place was simply incredible.

In our constant gazing, we eventually drifted to the front desk where a happy faced woman with green hair greeted us.

"Hello!" she chirped. "Welcome to Bellsprout's Garden! How many will be dining this evening?" This is where it could get awkward.

"Um, four," I said a bit nervously. "These two," motioning to Flare and Tecta, "myself, and...a Gyarados." That didn't seem to faze the cheery host.

"I know a perfect spot for you all! Right this way!" She motioned for us to follow and began walking rather quickly down the sidewalk. My Pokémon and I rushed to catch up before she lost us.

The walk was incredible. All around us, people were happily enjoying their meals with their Pokémon amongst the most amazing scenery. There were even various flying Pokémon occupying the skies. It was as if we had stepped into a mini paradise.

Our little convoy soon took a turn down a little winding path that led to an opening in one of the hill. She was going to take me and my Gyarados into a cave? Didn't seem like the best plan to me. Of course, I would be proved wrong. She was getting paid to do this, after all.

The entrance brought us to a long stone staircase the went far down. There was an underground to this place? It was just getting more and more incredible. We began our walk down the stairs, and I soon realized that there were sights everywhere.

The walls were lined with crystalline lights that emitted a deep blue glow. It was amazing to look at them all leading the way down the stairs. That was enough to marvel over as we made our way down.

Before we knew it, we were at the bottom step. Our host then showed us down a little stone hallway. At the end, the paradise from above paled in comparison to what we saw.

The first thing I noticed was the waterfall. It poured down from probably twenty feet up into a crystal blue pond at the bottom. Stalactites about five feet long hung down from the ceiling that was just as high as the one upstairs. They drip a liquid that was glowing an emerald green. Stone tables dotted the floor with happy people eating with their Pokémon. Theirs were different from the ones upstairs, though. There were more Rock, Ground, Fighting, and Water types while the upstairs welcomed in more Grass, Normal, and Electric types.

"Your table is right over here." Our host's voice snapped me out of my trance, and I followed her to a table that sat right on the shore of the pond that turned out to be quite larger than I had thought. "Enjoy your meal!" She placed a menu on the table and scurried off toward the stairs.

Before I did anything else, I released Ty into the pond. He splashed into the water with a rather mighty roar. I ducked my head as other customers turned and stared in our direction. I wasn't going to be the one to tell him to stop, though.

After making sure my Pokémon were properly situated, I sat down with a sigh of relief and picked up the menu that sat in front of me. Lucky for me, there was a value section of the menu because everything else was double digits in the pricing. On another stroke of luck, they had grilled kelp for three bucks a pound. It was going to be a good night.

"Hey, buddy." I turned around to see a kid, probably a year or two older than me, walking in my direction. He was tall and skinny with his short brown hair covered by a blue cap. He wore a black jacket not too different from mine with blue shoulders to match the hat. What did he want with me? "Is that your Gyarados?"

"Yeah," I replied in a low voice. My caution levels were still high after my last interaction with other people. "Why do you ask?"

"I just haven't seen one up close." No surprise there. Not too many people would want to see one up close. "How 'bout you show me how he battles?" All I offered was a stare that sent the message of just how ridiculous he sounded to me. I mean, a battle inside this nice restaurant? I just wanted to enjoy a nice meal.

"Sorry, pal, I'm just here to eat." I could see the disappointment on his face. Not my problem.

"Come on, man. How 'bout we battle after the meal then?" My stare didn't falter. "I've got a bunch of money. If you win, your meal will be more than paid for." Like I said, my stare didn't falter. However, that didn't mean I had tossed his offer out the window. My Pokémon could use a nice battle after years of avoiding them. And Arceus knows I could use some extra cash.

"Alright." My acceptance seemed to surprise the trainer as he jumped a little with a smile. "Let my team and I eat, and then we'll find a place to battle." He nodded excitedly. Just as he was about to take off back to his seat, he stopped himself.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Jericho." He extended his hand for a handshake that I took a little reluctantly.

"Black." He stopped for a second, a confused look on his face. "That's my name." He nodded slowly before slinking back to his seat. I don't care what people think of my name. That's what it was now. People can think whatever the hell they want. It wasn't there opinion that mattered.

Soon after the conversation, the waiter showed up out of seemingly nowhere. I had hardly looked at the menu, but I was fairly sure of what I wanted.

"Are you ready to order, sir?" he asked with a very formal tone.

"Uh, yeah," I replied, kind of ruining the formal air. "My Charmander will have the spicy Poké bits, my Geodude will have some granite nuggets, my Gyarados will have three pounds of your grilled kelp, and I'll have the small Tauros burger. Medium rare." He scribbled down the order, took a wary glance at Ty, and waddled off.

I decided I should probably count up the price of our meal. After all, the taxi widdled me down to only thirteen bucks and some pocket change. It wasn't pretty. Ty's kelp cost nine bucks itself, but he really needed the food. After all, he was over twenty feet long and had been traveling for so long. The rest was cheap, but altogether still brought the price up over twenty bucks. I needed some more money, and there was only one way I knew how to get it.

The food came out fairly quickly. Flare and Tecta hopped up to the table at the scent of it, and Ty came out of the water and lowered his head to get at his kelp. I myself had never seen a more delicious-looking burger. We all downed our food in what seemed like seconds. Flare had been particularly messy as his spicy bits left crumbs all over the table.

I felt bad, though, because Ty didn't seem to be filled by his meal. I know people who could eat three pounds of food in one setting. A twenty-plus foot beast needed much more.

"Don't worry, buddy," I said as I patted his head. "If we beat that other trainer, I'll get you another, bigger, heap of kelp." He made a sound as close to a purr as he could muster. It sounded very strange, but was good to hear.

It didn't take long to find Jericho. He was sitting across the pond watching a Seel swim around. Once I was close enough, he looked up and rushed at me. I held up a hand to stop him before I was knocked away.

"Don't worry, man," he said reassuringly. "I'll stop in time." He let out a chuckle as I rolled my eyes. "So you ready to battle?"

"We have to make this quick," I said without a pause. "I need the winnings to pay for my meal." He looked at me with a half grin before walking to my server who had been serving another table. They exchanged words before he came back to me. "I paid for your meal. Now give me a good battle."

This guy was alright. I didn't enjoy taking charity money, but I wasn't going to argue. I'd just give him a good battle and pay him back out of my winnings. I was going into this thing with a very cocky attitude.

"Come with me." He waved me over to the pond's shore. It was then that I spotted some flat stones that were barely sticking above the water. He began to walk across them, so I followed, still being cautious as to where I was going. I returned Flare and Tecta to save them the torture of being so close to water, but Ty remained by my side, swimming easily. That pond seemed really deep. I just hoped I could keep my balance.

We soon approached the waterfall. Jericho didn't stop, though. He walked right through it and encouraged me to do the same. Ty went before me as I eyed the wall of water curiously. I then figured if he could fit, I certainly could and walked through the driest looking spot.

On the other side was a large cavern with a large circular patch of land surrounded by a moat of water. It looked like a Pokémon battling field. This thought was confirmed once I saw Jericho take a position on the left side of the field. I took the right side, and Ty swam into the area of the moat behind me.

"You ready for this?" my opponent asked, his voice eager and confident. I simply nodded and returned Ty. He wasn't going to start this. Instead, I held Tecta's Pokéball firmly in my hand, ready to throw. Jericho grabbed his own and held it back.

It was time to get back into the battling game.


End file.
